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The plane circled the airport repeatedly and finally landed on the rocky ground in Punta Cana.  The gift from my parents, a huge pineapple, was wedged between the seat and my hip.  I grabbed the fruit quickly and peered out the small windows searching for the man that was to be my husband.  It was tradition and expected of me, so I never doubted my parents wishes.  Butterflies frequented my stomach as I made my way off the plane and into my new life.  The sun caught my eyes; the glare blinded me momentarily, producing tears.  My eyes had always been light sensitive, but the condition had worsened over the years.  I wiped the tears with the corner of my index finger and glared back at the sun.  He was my enemy.  The crowd faded into the airport to pick up their luggage and meet their families or start their sunny vacations.  I moved my hand over my eyes and searched one more time for the man that was mine, but he wasn’t there.  I was alone.

            His picture sat folded nicely in my pocket and it was a scary reminder of the unknown.  I didn’t even know this man, but here I was, waiting in an empty airport, ready to marry him and bare his children.  It’s quite funny what dictates normal in today’s world.  I wonder what he’s like; will he love me and worship the ground I walk on or will he beat me for the rest of my life?  I will never know, but I guess that any marriage has those same questions.  People fall in love blindly and who’s to say that I won’t love this man.  Oh, well.  I sighed from the heat exhaustion and made my way to baggage claim.  The airport was no cooler; the humidity hit the bag of my throat and clung there like dry cotton.  I searched through the crowded airport; my eyes darted back and forth from babies in carriages, old couples and obvious honeymooners that seemed glued to each other.  My bags looped around the conveyor belt and I quickly picked them off the line before they disappeared once more.  I walked around aimlessly for what seemed like hours and then finally decided to get a taxi.