Airport
A few days before "Hot spring"
Out the right window, the waves of the ocean below are now becoming clear, with the distant mountains and the buildings of Osaka being the only land in sight. The airport should come in aaany second now, George hopes.
Suddenly, land below.
100, Jeanne estimates.
Not much later, the runway comes into view below the wing.
50
40
30
20
10
5
5? come o-
With a thud, the rear wheels of the plane contact the runway. The spoilers on the wing open, and the thrust reversers engage. The brakes slow the aircraft down to taxi speed.
"Back on the ground! Wasn't so bad right?"
"Get me out of here..." George replies, letting out a sigh of relief.
Jeanne can feel his hand relax.
"You can let go now, unless you plan to drag me out of here"
Some time later, the plane parks at the gate. Benjamin, sitting next to the aisle, stands up with most of the other passengers to already grab his bags. Having sat for this long, Jeanne attempts to stretch, but her height and the limited legroom make this difficult. After some more waiting, they can begin to disembark.
Benjamin helps hand everyone their carry-on luggage. Tom and Dave from the row in front first, then George, who wants to get out quickly, and finally Jeanne.
She quickly taps the pockets in her pants to see if everything is there. Phone, wallet, passport, water bottle, check. Backpack, check. Everything again, quickly look in the chair. Nothing there? Check. She follows George out of the plane, into the jet bridge, with Benjamin following her.
The group gather right outside the gate. Jeanne double checks her backpack. Laptop, Power bank, charging cables, lunch box, medication, stuffed shark, should be everything. Finally some freedom and non-cabin air.
"I'm off to the toilet, you wait here.", George says, visibly more relaxed now that he's out of the plane.
The others take the time to stretch their legs a bit.
After George returns, the group heads to the baggage pick up area. Tom and Benjamin grab carts to put the suitcases on. Shortly after this, some suitcases roll onto the baggage belt. Nothing familiar yet.
After a while, George sees his suitcase come by. It's clearly been worn, and is recognizable from all the stickers of countries and natural parks he visited before. He grabs it and puts it on one of the carts.
Some time later, Dave's suitcase arrives. It's large, and rather boring compared to George's suitcase. George, still standing closest to the baggage belt, helps him put it on the cart.
Jeanne can recognize her suitcase from the rainbow belt around it, ensuring it remains closed. It has been used for as long as she can remember when she went on holidays with her parents when younger. Its somewhat unusual shape and Jeanne's height makes it rather annoying to pull around, so onto the cart it goes.
It takes awhile, but Benjamin and Tom's suitcases arrive at the same time. Both go on the carts. Jeanne triple checks if she indeed has everything in her pockets and bag. She stretches one more time.
"I'd say its time to head to head to the hotel!"