Sue had awoken long before the sun’s presence, how could she not? Today was the day! Tim, her newly-wed husband, would be returning after a month spent for a business trip in Bahrain, and Sue had been dying to meet him. Tim was the love of her life, and she adored every moment spent in his calm, reassuring, loving presence. She spent many feverish moments cleaning and tidying up the house. Everything must be spick-and-span, everything must sparkle to welcome Tim. After an hour-and-a-half, Sue looked about the house, tired yet satisfied. The turkey had been put into the oven, basted generously with the warm and gooey butter that Tim adored. Sue looked at the clock, ten minutes past seven. Tim’s flight would be landing at ten o’clock. Plenty of time, she thought to herself. Settling cozily into the living room sofa, Sue began to read her favourite magazine, ‘The Chronicler’s Delight’. Being the avid reader that she was, Sue quickly became engrossed in her journal, and was consequently startled when her alarm went off at nine o’clock. Placing the magazine carefully on a table, she removed the succulent turkey out of the oven, gathered her car keys, and made her way out of the smallish apartment.

Humming her favourite tune, Sue drove her supermini at a steady pace, weaving in and out of bylanes, avoiding the thoroughfares. Past the gray and drab skyscrapers which seemingly disappeared behind equally grey clouds , past the park which was seldom populated at this busy hour. Within twenty minutes, she had reached the airport, and had parked the car. As she made her way to the arrivals, Sue was positively bubbling with anticipation and happiness

Waiting right at the front, she gazed expectantly at the throng of passengers who were making their way out of the airport. Whenever she saw someone wave in her direction with eager joy, even if they happened to be at a considerable distance from her, she would excitedly wave back only to find that the person being hailed was standing behind or beside her. It’s alright, she thought to herself, he’ll be coming any second now. She smiled at herself. Muddled Tim! How many times had he gotten his baggage lost or misplaced? She made a mental note to tie a colourful ribbon on his bag the next time so that he could easily identify it.

Two hours of waiting gone by, still no sign of Tim. Sue sighed deeply, her face white and devoid of emotion, yet she tried hard to force a smile. Perhaps, next Monday will be the day. She kept repeating this to herself as she walked gently back to her car, until she finally believed herself. Yes! She thought, he’ll definitely come next Monday. This thought made her happy once again, and as the car made its journey back home, Sue was busy thinking of how she would decorate the house and what new and exotic dishes she would learn to prepare over the course of the week to surprise her dear husband when he would return next week . Everything must be spick-and-span, everything must sparkle to welcome Tim.

Poor Sue! Her husband’s flight had never landed successfully, crashing to its death five years ago on a Monday. She had visited the airport every Monday since then, convinced that he would return from Bahrain to be with her, his beautiful newly-wed wife.

Ah crestfallen love! You are made even more cruel by coupling madness with heartbreak.

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