Since I thought the general noise would eventually wake him up, I decided to focus on my connecting flight.
I couldn’t afford to be late for my flight, so I hurriedly got off the plane.
The terminal was crowded with people, and I had to wade through the crowd to get to the new exit.
When I finally got there, boarding was already starting.
I made it just in time, and as I sat down in my seat, I was overcome with a sense of relief.
I was on my way to San Diego, and I finally had a moment to catch my breath.
It wasn’t until I landed in San Diego and met up with my colleagues that I learnt the whole story.
While we were chatting about our flights, one of my colleagues, Lisa, mentioned that she saw someone she knew.
‘There was this guy in LA who looked like he had just woken up from a coma,’ Lisa said, laughing.
‘He tumbled out of the plane, completely confused. I heard him arguing with the gate agent because he missed his connecting flight.
Apparently he was asleep when the gate change was announced, and when he woke up, it was too late.’
I couldn’t hold back a smile. ‘What did he look like?’
Lisa described him – a man in his mid-forties, wearing a slightly wrinkled shirt, trousers and polished shoes, with an expensive watch that he kept checking while arguing with the gate agent.
His hair was dishevelled and he looked both confused and angry.
There was no doubt – it was him.
‘Ah, that bloke!’ – I said, and satisfaction crept into my voice. ‘Yes, he was sitting next to me.
Can’t you believe he ate my food while I was on the loo and then fell asleep? I tried to wake him up, but he just didn’t want to.’
Lisa’s eyes widened. ‘Really? That’s karma in action.’
It was hard to disagree with that.
As annoying as it was to me, it was incredibly satisfying to know that karma had intervened.
While I made it to my meeting on time, Mr Important was stuck in LA, missed his connecting flights and probably regretted his decision to eat both meals.
Sometimes things happen exactly as they should. And in this case, karma didn’t miss a thing.