One day, I was at the airport, I think it was FRA, but I can't be entirely sure, I saw something that still moves me after several years. The plane had just landed and everyone was on their way to the exit right after baggage claim. People were eager to get out, but in order to get to the main terminal, they had to be transferred via shuttle train. I had already boarded and was looking outside through the still-open doors.
A boy suddenly appeared from the escalator. He must have been around nine or ten years old, old enough to carry his own bag. He looked like an ambitious little kid with hope and urgency in his eyes. His luggage was obviously too heavy for him, but he was the first of his family to arrive at the platform. He stopped in front of the train, looking back, then looking at me, looking back again, and back at me.
He grew anxious when he heard the beeping sound, his eyes were busy locating his parents. There they are, hurry up! he must have thought. One more beep and the doors will shut. Finally, his parents arrived, and through the window of the closed door I saw him cry. Tears running down his red puffy cheeks like a train on its tracks. Unable to articulate his feelings, he cried in silence. I know, you were there on time. You made it.
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