I woke this morning from a nightmare. Thirty minutes later, my heart is only beginning to slow down, and I am still taking short, shallow breaths.
I was in a very large and unfamiliar airport that was under construction.
I knew I had recently arrived on an airplane, but I had no short-term memory. I didn’t know where I was, where I had flown in from, what gate I had arrived at, or what airline I had flown with. I didn’t even know how recently I had arrived.
I knew I had checked baggage, but where was the baggage claim?
Had I just arrived? Then my bag would soon be arriving on the conveyor. But maybe I had been at the airport for many hours. Even a day or two. In that case, I’d have to find someone in the baggage area to ask where it might be stored.
Even worse, I had set down my things. I had nothing with me except a scrap of paper in one hand. I think it was a soiled white napkin.
No purse. No phone. No boarding pass. No baggage claim check. No money. No credit card. No ID.
I didn’t dare leave the gate area because I wouldn’t be able to get back in through security.
I needed to retrace my steps, to find my things. But everything around me was unfamiliar, and I had zero memory. How do you retrace steps you do not remember taking?
I needed help, but I could not find any employees. Just a crowd of tired, grouchy travelers pushing past me.