I never imagined I’d experience something like that in my lifetime. I’d only ever seen it on TV. But when it actually happened, I wasn’t really scared because everything happened so fast. More than anything, I was just surprised.
After all the international trips I’ve taken—going through immigration and airport security so many times—that was the very first time I felt genuinely nervous going through airport security.
Whenever we travel back to America, the journey is no joke. We have to take three flights, plus a train and a bus. The only thing missing was a horse and a carriage! 😨
Walking through those airports isn’t easy either. You have to walk forever just to find your gate, then there are stairs, moving walkways, elevators, and escalators everywhere. Traveling is exhausting.
This trip, we left our house a little after 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. We took a train, then a bus to the airport. We arrived at the first airport early and waited for a few hours before our flight. Immigration and security were smooth as usual—line up, fill out forms, get your photo taken, then head to the gate.
At the second airport, we had to rush because we only had a one-hour layover. It took about thirty minutes just to walk to the next gate, passing all those beautiful shops. To make things even more stressful, our first flight arrived late because the pilot said there was traffic at the aircraft parking gates.
Then came the almost 12-hour flight. As someone who’s terrified of flying, I kept thinking, ‘What if this plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean?’ Even after flying so many times, I’m still scared. The slightest turbulence makes my heart race. Honestly, those 12 hours felt like torture.
Finally, we landed in America. But we weren’t done yet because we still had to spend the night at a hotel before catching another flight the next morning. At least we thought we’d get some rest. Not really. My daughter was jet-lagged and stayed awake the entire night. Instead of waking up at 4:00 a.m., we were already awake anyway. By 3:00 a.m., we got dressed and prepared for our 7:20 a.m. flight to Utah, where my husband is from.
We arrived at the airport early, which turned out to be perfect because we had enough time to check in and drop off our bags. After that, we lined up again for immigration. The line was long but manageable.
Then came security—and that’s when my heart started racing.
My daughter and I placed our bags and phones in a tray for the X-ray machine, while my husband used another tray. Since we were ahead of him, my daughter and I went through the body scanner first. I let my daughter go ahead. After she passed through, a female security officer gave her a quick pat-down.
Then it was my turn.
I walked through the scanner, and I think it beeped. Or maybe it did—I was practically deaf after spending so many hours on the plane. I was confused because I wasn’t wearing a belt, earrings, or anything metal.
A male security officer signaled for me to stop. He wouldn’t let me walk any farther. I thought he was waiting for a female officer to pat me down, just like they had done with my daughter. But that wasn’t what happened.
He asked me to step aside and said, ‘Show me your hands.’
So I raised both hands and showed him my palms. He looked at them, then took out what looked like a sealed paper strip. He opened it and rubbed it across my palms.
That’s when I realized this wasn’t just about metal objects. This was something different. 😨
After swabbing my hands, he inserted the strip into a small machine with a monitor. I kept wondering, ‘What is that machine going to find?’
My daughter seemed to understand that something unusual was happening. She held my hand, kissed it, and softly said, ‘I love you.’
The two of us just stood there, waiting for the result to appear on the screen.
My mind started racing. What if something showed up? Had I accidentally touched something I wasn’t supposed to? I’d never gone through anything like this before.
Then the screen displayed the words: ‘No Alarm.’
The officer smiled and said, ‘You can go.’ 😨
Goodness! I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I was still so nervous. My imagination went wild. What if the machine was broken and it said ‘Alarm’ instead? Where would they take me? Would that have been the last time I’d see my husband and daughter? 😨🤣
That’s just how overactive my imagination is.
Anyway, we made it through. We headed to the gate, waited to board, and finally took our last flight home. Traveling really wears you out.
For now, I’m just relaxing and doing some writing while we’re on vacation because in a few weeks, we’ll be taking three more flights back home.
Another story for another day.
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