Karla, a very attractive young saxophone player who was waiting for her flight at the airport bar for countless hours, met John. This happened when she was headed to Paris. I said was because she never arrived. Karla told him many things about music and how passionate she felt about it.
When Karla was a little girl and her mother discovered her musical skills she enrolled her in school to learn to play the saxophone. Karla devoted herself completely to this, so much so that she almost didn´t finish High School.
Music truly moves her and makes her whole. Only two other things make her feel alive – sports and good cuisine but due to her devotion to music it makes it hard to practice either of the two.
She spent many hours sitting next to her mother listening to her play classical music on the piano: Handel, Mozart, Verdi and Chopin were her favorites. Her mother, who was a solitary woman and lived in the outskirts of a big city, was also an excellent pianist and taught Karla musical chords which now she uses to demonstrate the great skills she has as a saxophone player.
There are many other reasons for her inclination towards the arts. She remembers well the magical Walt Disney movie
Fantasia, which left a special mark in her life and she will always carry that with her. Rock music also influenced her, groups such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles initiated her in the path she successfully follows today.
John, who was very interested in the story not only because of the topic but also because of who was telling it, seemed immerse in Karla´s world. He was staring at her and could hear her and with very kind tone asked her to continue, but Karla refused and stated that she also wanted to know a little about his own story. John began a very short tale without including details, and simply let her know he was a solitary dreamer who bought and sold all types of literature and any time he had a chance to travel he did so.
Karla wanted to know more and did not hide the interest he had aroused in her. The addiction to reading had turned John into a business man, so much so that he owned over ten thousand books. This has enabled him to get to know all kinds of people and talk with people from all regions, all political, religious and cultural tendencies and has made incursions into subjects that, while they did not please him, he had to mention them.
The flight has definitely been cancelled due to bad weather and now Karla and John are thinking about the farewell; they will go their own way and will wait for the next day to make their trip to Paris. They leave the airport looking for a place to spend the night while waiting for better weather conditions. The airline offers to pay for the expenses of a one night hotel stay in the city but warns the passengers that it will only be one night whether the conditions change or not.
While they wait in line to check in they continue talking and getting to know each other a little better. At the front desk they are told there are few rooms available and therefore they will have to share a room with another person. Karla who is in line before John, gets paired up with the person in front of her.
After settling in and leaving the luggage in the room, Karla decides to go out for dinner without realizing that John was in the hotel restaurant submerged in his reading. He interrupts this as soon as he sees her and invites her to sit by his side. As they finish dinner John wants to know more about Karla´s life and asks her to continue telling her story.
For Karla, the eighties music was and still is the foundation, and in many of her presentations she includes themes of artists from that era such as Sting, Phil Collins, Bob Geldoff, and Elton John. Jazz has also been one of her favorites, like songs by Amstrong and Mangioni. But she does not play her favorite music; she just listens to it on her free time and takes it as her inspiration. Colombian music represents feeling, tradition and the reflection of a culture that refuses to forget its customs and its ancient and typical rhythms and chords.
It was a bright night with a clear and starry sky and through the restaurant window on the highest floor of the hotel one could admire a big part of the city, the main avenue with its lights, the coming and going of the cars showing the night life there, and although it was not Paris it had many attractions which John and Karla decided to explore.
They entered a cafe where soft and charming music could be heard for their enjoyment. John was passionate about reading, and has read books on all topics and styles and he gets something out of each one of them, which takes him to a summit of literary knowledge, and keeps him a winner in the business of written culture. Writers such as Kafka, Khundera, Jalil Gibran, Stephen King, Robin Sharma, García Márquez and Neruda have enabled him to travel the world of the literary circles and he has not only made good money but very valuable friendships.
Most people ask themselves: What is the joy of living? To which he replies: "The true joy of living lays in doing it for a reason which is prime to you". Family and work whatever it may be, as long as they keep you satisfied, are the fundamentals and the reason for each human being. However, John is a solitary man who has not established a serious relationship for several years and he doesn´t know if it is fate or the surroundings and atmosphere in which he lives his life.
The night is coming to an end, dawn is warm and they leave towards the hotel but neither of them feels they should come in the room and bother the person sleeping there, so they decide to sit at the park and wait for morning.
After such long day Karla lays down in her room to rest before restarting her journey; she falls into a deep and pleasurable dream with perfect images of prairies that bring her peacefulness. In her dream she wonders around those prairies with free and open arms surrounded by lush trees and seagulls in the sky inspiring peace.
While John was in his room he received a phone call and is informed that her beloved sister who has been under medical treatment for several years has had a relapse and he is requested to be there with much urgency. He didn´t hesitate to leave the room and go to look for Karla to say goodbye and wish her a good trip.
After waiting several minutes outside her door, which seemed like an eternity to him, he was ready to leave, when Karla opened the door and was surprised to see John´s expression. She gently holds his hand and invites him to come in.
Cathy, John´s sister, has suffered a terrible illness for several years, which has depleted her defenses and has made her give up her job as a fine arts teacher. She has been her brother´s confidant and there is more of a friendship and deep love between them than a relationship between a brother and a sister. It is because of that and many other reasons that John has decided to return next to that being that needs him now more than ever.
Karla, who seems rather upset by what happened, tries to comfort him with encouraging words, making him know that he can find support in her, but she does not believe words are enough and offers to accompany him to make him feel better, not thinking about her engagements. She picks up the phone to cancel her pending presentation but John interferes and refuses to accept.
John is very thankful and picks up his luggage and with a faint smile lets her know how good she has made him feel, he looks at her and wishes her the best of luck. He hadn´t finished talking when Karla´s lips made him silent; they sealed his lips and offered the biggest and most sincere kiss he had ever before experienced.
Due to her persistence to accompany him and after that show of appreciation, John has accepted her companionship and allows Karla to make the phone call to cancel her engagement in Paris......
Three years have elapsed since they met at the airport bar. Now they live with their two daughters and their pet. Karla teaches music at the city conservatory and John has opened up a printing business.
The concert Karla dreamed about for years in Paris never happened but in turn she found the happiness and peace John has provided all this time. She is fulfilled as a woman, a mother and a person. Every single day she is thankful that flight was cancelled.
Ben
