... Must Come Down

Yesh hops on the escalator and calls loudly, "Rose!"

She turns around. "When you get to the top, stop and wait for me!"

"1.10"… "1.09" … "1.08"…

The guy says, "Another transport is available in 10 minutes", but our flight had left CLT thirty minutes late and we were cutting our connection short as-is.

"Please wait for us," I call to the guy. "My sister is coming down!, " Mellissa calls. "0.58"… "0.57"… "0.56"...

"Just leave her," the guy teases with a smile. "You can get another sister. One that won't be late."

Yesh reaches the top and spends what seems like hours of precious time convincing her that she needs to come back down. Tick… tick… tick…

Mellissa, Lax and I look anxiously between the two at the top of the escalator, the guy at the gate, and the clock counting down on the wall above his head. "0.30"… "0.29"…

Finally Rose nods in concession. There is further hurried conversation, then Yesh steps onto the escalator. And Rose does not. Because she can't. Because she thinks she can't. Because the step is moving and she is pulling behind her the carry on case that is almost as tall as she is and she is afraid to try… Tick… tick… tick….

And Yesh has turned around, and he is looking up and yelling for Rose to step onto the moving tread as he glides ever downward. And we are yelling at Rose to step onto the tread. And we can tell that Yesh is trying to decide if he should run back up the moving escalator to grab Rose.

"0.08"… "0.07"… "0.06"…

And we are yelling at the guy, "Please wait for her". And his smile is fading.

And finally a man in a uniform walks toward the top of the escalator, and we can tell that he is offering to help Rose. And Yesh is calling out to her, "let him help you!". And Mellissa is yelling to the transport guy, "She's coming, my sister, she's coming!"

"9.59"… "9.58"… "9.57"... The clock has reset itself for the next departure. The shuttle should have left already.

And the guy in the uniform takes Rose by the hand, and takes her bag in the other hand, and he brings her down the escalator.

"9.23"… "9.22"… "9.21"..

And as we hustle her over to the gate for the International terminal transport, the guy manning the gate says, "Remember to tip your driver."