Standing on the line at JFK airport and waiting for our turn to board on the taxi, for a moment, I felt like that I were a time traveler returned from another world and another time. Everything appeared to be so different yet so familiar, including the smells of winter in this city, at the same time. My body was making the adjustments to adapt the chilliness resulted from the temperature of 30s degrees Fahrenheit, a 50 degrees drop from the beach in African continent 14 hours ago.
"I'm frozen." she whispered to my ear. Unlike other times, I didn't take an opportunity to humor her for her dress codes, instead, I pulled her body to mine and wrapped my arms around her.
"Thank you, dear, you are so warm." she whispered again with her head rest on my shoulder; her hair reminded me the fragrance of shampoo from the resort hotel ten thousands mile away.
My mind was starting drifting again, conjuring up a scene of many many winters ago; Then I , a junior in an university in China on the winter recess, had a road trip with one of female classmates in my class. We traveled to a northern city for its famous ice sculptures festival. The night before we returned to SH at a hotel, she knocked on the door of my hotel room in the middle of night, complaining to me how cold her room was. Acting with knightship, I offered her to sleep in my room, and she did and then I went down to the hotel lobby to play video games on my laptop for the rest of night. The interesting thing was she never talked to me much after the trip ended, and I could not figure it out why. Now, in the coldness, I got the answer, and I couldn't help but laugh it out loud for my childish game playing night.
"What's so funny ?" She raised her head and looked at me with bewilderment in her eyes. "Nothing really, let's move up on the line." I replied and held her a bit tighter.
Some people believe that time is an illusion. To me time is the real deal, it provides me with measurements for so many things in my life, good, bad or silly not mention to reveal many answers, finally.
Taxi cruised on I-495, I admired the houses decorated with holiday lights along the both sides of the road , and started wondering what would be the same and the different in few days when time will fly/spill over to a brand new year - 2013.
