Frank Athlete stood at the window, looking out at the runway below and into the darkness beyond. There was little to see from this side of the airport in the early hours of the morning. No city scape or mountain ranges. No hustle and bustle of Trabzon's busy backstreets. Only black.
Frank breathed in deeply. He stared out at the Black Sea, feeling strangely comforted by the emptiness of it all. He smiled inwardly, remembering the little known fact he'd learnt that the sea's anoxic water makes marine life survival impossible here. While many consider the absence of life to be a despairing thought, Frank saw it as nature's blank slate. A place to start fresh and begin again.
As this thought crossed his mind he instinctively glanced away to his left. Although hard to discern in the darkness, just mere metres across the tarmac stood the silhouette of the Şenol Güneş Stadium, a coliseum rising up out of the ground. The city's new conservation project had insisted that all non-essential lights be turned off between 1.00 am and 5.00 am, and so he had a hard time identifying the important features of what had been his home for so many years. He squinted into the night, taking in the Trabzonspor stadium one last time.
He was sad to be leaving. For the first time in a long time, he'd found true happiness in Trabzon and had enjoyed the success he and his team had achieved. He was comfortable here and yet he also felt the hunger burning inside of him. He wanted more. To strip it all back and to start again, from the ground up.
Suddenly the airport public address system crackled into life, dragging Frank away from his thoughts and back to the sleepy airport terminal.
"This is a passenger announcement for Turkish Airlines flight TK 2823 to Schipol Airport via Istanbul. We would like to invite Business and First Class passengers to begin boarding the flight at Gate 107. Please have your passport and boarding card ready as you approach the desk."
Frank gathered his faux-leather carry-on bag and customarily patted his breast pocket to check once again that both passport and boarding card were still in place. He took one last look out at the runway and the blackness beyond, before turning towards the desk.
-
Once onboard, Frank retrieved his laptop from his bag before stowing the rest of his luggage above his head. He took his seat in the aisle, nodding politely to the woman sat at the window who caught his eye. She smiled, kindly. "Are you excited to be going to Amsterdam?" she asked, in what Frank believed to be a Dutch accent.
Frank smiled. "Of course" he replied politely.
"I hate it there" she said, turning to look out of the window before continuing, "It's too busy with tourists. I'm from the South, I was born on the waterways. I can't wait to get home."
Frank grinned as he busily switched on the computer and entered his password. "If it helps, I won't be staying in Amsterdam either" he said, jovially, glancing at the back of her head as she continued to look out of the window. "I've taken a job in the South, very close to the waterways" he finished.
The woman snapped her head around, angry at the stranger's taunt. To her surprise however, his smile showed him to be genuine, and she softened. "Where will you be working?" she enquired, curiously.
Frank didn't answer immediately. He opened his email application with a knowing look in his eye and glanced sideways at her. "We have a few hours. Can I get you a drink?" he asked. "Perhaps you can coach me on how to avoid becoming a 'busy tourist' while I'm there."
The woman smiled warmly. "A drink would be great" she said, "but the flight won't be long enough to coach you I'm afraid, Englishman."
Frank laughed loudly. He pressed the call button above his head and leant back into his chair. His fresh start had already begun.
I hope you enjoyed this update. Stay tuned for more details on Frank's next destination for FM22 coming very soon.
Thanks for reading. I've been FM Athlete. You've been "bamboozled". See you next time.