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She awoke at the stroke of midnight. The clock in the living room boomed loudly as if angrily shouting to her. She gently rose from her bed and wandered into the bathroom. She washed her face and stared at the mirror that gazed blankly back at her, she hated when the mirror played tricks.

She made her way downstairs and quickly searched for the matches. The lights were still completely out. It made her wonder why, she was sure that she had called about this problem earlier. Maybe she would try again later, she thought, maybe they had made a mistake. She lit a long white candle, placed it on the mantle and exited the house. From the outside as she turned to stare at it, her home appeared dark and dreary, as though it swallowed up passer bys into its depths.

Making her way quickly down the block she hailed a cab. The driver’s eyes widened and he sped away quickly, she hated when they did that. It made her feel inferior but in her heart she knew she was just like him.

She tried again and this time someone stopped to give her a lift. “Where to Ma’am?” The older man asked in a husky voice. “The Airport, Terminal 18” She mumbled feeling as though something was wrong with her speaking to him.

The driver sat up, he had become more alert after she spoke. He stared at her endlessly, wondering if he was losing what was left of his sight. Something about her mesmerized him, her white shawl, her white bracelets, everything pure angelic white. There was a luminous quality about her, he felt as though he could see through her. But that was impossible and he knew it.

---

They arrived at the airport and she jumped out of the cab and began making her way to the terminal. “Hey lady, you didn’t pay me!” He screamed angrily after her. But she kept walking briskly away from him. He got out of the cab angrily and made his way into the terminal too.

It was late, not many people were around and it wasn’t a flying season. But as he kept circling the same area he could not locate her. It was if she just disappeared. Frustrated, he retreated back to his vehicle, “Perfect, waste of time, waste of money!” He grumbled as he sped off into the night, away from the airport.

She gazed at the computers as she sat there waiting impatiently. She had been staring at them for so long that they just appeared to be fuzzy squares of blue. She began to braid and unbraid her long raven black hair to stop herself from fidgeting. ‘Where IS he?’ She thought. He was supposed to arrive at midnight. ‘Maybe the flight is late? Maybe I’m late?’ She began to feel paranoia build up inside of her. ‘What if something happened?’

She got up abruptly and quickly made her way over to one of the late night employees of the airline. “Excuse me?” She stammered, afraid that her fears might be confirmed.

“Yes?” Replied the woman, not even bothering to look up. She began to adjust her maroon jacket and the pin on it. “Flight 236, did it arrive yet? Is it late?” The girl hurriedly said, not meaning to sound demanding. She noticed what the woman was doing and thought to herself, ‘How nice it must be to have something to identify oneself with.’

“236? Are you sure you’re at the right terminal? I’m not sure if there is a 236 coming in tonight. Let me look that up for you.” The woman offered and began tapping away at the keyboard in front of her.

“Yes, there is definitely a 236 tonight. My fiancée is arriving! We’re getting married in a few days. It’s really exciting.” She whispered anxiously. “I’m sure, dear”, the airline employee said, in a tone that showed she didn’t really care one way or the other. “I’m sorry, miss. There is no 236 arriving at this terminal tonight.”

The girl let go of her long braid as the color drained from her face. “What? That can’t be, he said March 21st, I’m sure he did.” The woman looked up from her computer screen for the first time since the girl had approached her, “Miss, it’s the 3rd of May”

The girl laughed in a child-like giggle, “No, it’s March 21st 1994” The woman suddenly turned pale, and looked over at the blue monitor, the girls eyes followed her. At the top left corner, printed clearly in large letters and blinking furiously, was the date: ‘05/03/04’ The woman turned back to face the girl but she was gone.

---

She awoke at dawn and stared at the candle. It was nothing but a mound of wax. She lay there and began to cry as the memories flooded back to her. She remembered the night he was supposed to come, the way she hurried to the airport, the car accident. She had promised him. She had sworn that she would be there no matter what. But she couldn’t that night.

The clock screeched in its annoying monotonous tone, she awoke from her deep rest and slowly trudged over to the bathroom sink. She glared angrily at the mirror above it. No reflection, not today, not ever. ‘I promised him I would be there, and I’ll be there, every day for eternity’, she thought as she slammed her fist into the glass. It shattered into jagged shards that crashed to the floor. She stared at her unwounded hand that just would not bleed. She sighed heavily and began to make her way downstairs.

‘I should call them about the lights’ she thought, as she lit another candle. ‘There must be light when he comes home, how else will he know that I’ve been waiting?’

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