he was really gone

I don't know for how long I stood there, at the same spot in the airport, watching Karim's plane disappear into the sky.

My mind was a haze of emotions, each one more suffocating than the last. I could barely comprehend that he was really gone, back to his home country.

The distance between us felt insurmountable, an invisible wall that grew thicker with every second.

The realization that I might never see Karim again hit me like a tidal wave.

It was as if the ground beneath me had crumbled, leaving me teetering on the edge of an abyss. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I made no effort to stop them.

They flowed freely, each drop a testament to the pain searing through my heart.

My chest felt tight, constricted, as if a vice were squeezing the life out of me. Breathing became an effort, each inhale a jagged, painful reminder of the void he left behind.