The announcement rouses Paul from his slumber. His consciousness has not yet fully returned when he hears a voice speaking from beside him.

“Dear Sir, please return your seat and table to the upright position, as we will start to descend shortly. Thank you very much,” The flight attendant said before she continues walking down the aisle, preparing everyone in her section for the descent and eventual landing.

Gathering his thoughts, Paul shuffles around his seat and shifts himself to sit in a more upright position, as well as returning his seat, which was reclined in order to facilitate his rest, to the upright position. He then lets his body sink to the chair, trying to relax and regulate his shortened breathing due to the burst of movements after a long period of inactivity. He looks around at the dimly lit aircraft. The rays from the rising sun creep in from many of the half-opened windows, painting the interior of the aircraft in a surreal blend of darkness and light.

A few minutes go by with Paul idly observing the surroundings, and various kinds of noises can now be heard as more passengers are starting to get awake, while the ones already awake are at various stages of preparing for landing. As the hustle and bustle increases, Paul feels his weight moving slightly upwards, indicating that the plane is getting ever closer to its destination. Not long afterwards, the pilot’s voice rings out from the in-flight announcement system.

As the flight attendants shuffle to their seats, Paul closes his eyes again, trying to get even a little bit more rest before the first day of his new life. After what seems like a few minutes pass, he jolts awake as the plane lands in the runway, bouncing up and down gently. The voice of the pilot is heard once more from the announcement system as the plane is taxiing on the runway.

Paul barely pays attention to the announcement anymore as he looks out the window towards the sky that is covered with dark gray clouds. The ground crew moves around as the plane slowly but steadily moves towards its designated parking spot, clothed in thick jackets and earmuffs below their noise-canceling headphones. Paul stays seated until the plane grinds to a complete halt, and a familiar sound rings across the airplane, indicating that the seat belt light has just been turned off. The other passengers start their activity of unloading their items from the overhead compartments, and the cabin crew moves towards the front of the aircraft as they prepare to bid farewell to the passengers that have been flying with them for the last 13 hours.

Yet, even as the other passengers finish tidying up and preparing to disembark, Paul sits unmoving in silence, staring at the gray sky. It is only after all the passengers behind him have moved towards the exit that Paul slowly but surely rises from his seat and gets his bag from the overhead compartment. Inside it are all of the essentials; his electronic gadgets, travel kit, as well as some change of clothes, and most of his leftover cash. He has left everything else behind, back in that place where he lost almost everything that he fought so hard to keep intact. As he thinks of the life and people he left behind, he moves towards the exit, being calmer than he expected, which surprises even himself. As he arrives at the door, the cabin crew that are waiting nearby greets him and wishes him a pleasant stay, smiling brightly, although Paul can clearly see their exhaustion in their eyes.

As he steps out of the airplane towards the skybridge, a gust of cold air hits him, before the heating of the airport kicks in and warms his body. As he makes his way towards immigration, he contemplates on how much the nation has grown, as shown by the airport that is barely recognizable from when he last visited 15 years ago. His legs keep moving even as he drowns in his thoughts, and soon he finds himself at the immigration counters. Lining up at the foreigners-only line, he opens his bag and fishes out his passport and the other documents provided for him by his old friend.

A few minutes pass by, and Paul finds himself at the front of the line, waiting for his turn as the immigration officer robotically processes the person in front of him. After a short while, Paul hears a thumping sound from in front of him, signifying his turn is coming. As he lifts his face that has been hanging down ever since he gets in front of the line, he sees the person taking back his passport before moving on towards the exit. The immigration officer watches as the man shuffles on, before turning his head back and laying his sight on Paul. Seeing this as his cue, Paul steps forward and readily presents his passport and his official documents to the officer, who receives it without showing a hint of a change on his expressionless face. After checking Paul’s documents and flipping the pages of his passport several times, the officer finally stamps the approval for Paul to enter the country before returning all of his documents to him. Paul receives his documents back, and makes a slight bow towards the officer before continuing on to the baggage claim.

After taking his checked-in luggage and making sure nothing is left behind, Paul proceeds to the exit. As he walks out of the door, the dark clouds finally burst, causing a light drizzle to rain down from the skies above. Paul stands wordlessly as he watches droplets of rain fall down, breaking upon reaching contact with the ground. The temperature drops even more, causing Paul to shudder slightly. For better or for worse, this country that he loved in his youth will be his new house from now on, whether he likes it or not.