T5 gate - Kuala Lumpur

Thursday, Feb. 21, 08
The morning starts with me on the sidewalk waiting for a cab to the Sandakan airport. My glasses are fogging from the humidity. Hell comes here for lessons in heat development. All goes well and I find myself in Kuala Lumpur airport with several hours to wait. It gives me time for a coffee and some soup. In the waiting room, at T5 gate, I pull out my camera to grab a photo of a 4 year old girl who is next to me at her gradmother's knee. The little girl runs away as I point the camera. Her mother, across the aisle, and her grandmother sitting next to me, are laughing at the shyness of this tot. Over the minutes, she warms up to me and I take some wonderful shots. The mother comes to sit on the other side of me -I'm surrounded. The mother motions that the little girl is deaf. The Jakarta call is heard and I step into line to board my Air Asia flight. As I pass the group, I hear the two adults calling me. I look over to see the little girl signing to me. She signs, "I love you." Thrilled beyond description, I place my hand to my heart and sign back to her. All the way out the gate and past where she sees me walk, she is signing to me. Such innocence is its own reward. I will always have a special feeling for a little girl at T5 gate.