Excerpt: That's Me in the Corner

Mary stepped off the Air India flight and into the weak air conditioning of the old terminal building. She could feel the cloying tendrils of humidity touch her skin with warm, gentle fingers. It was a relief after 17 hours of air travel. She was relieved to get out of the confines of the plane. The old airport building reminded her of a small-town bus terminal. The harsh fluorescent lights flickered gently and the tiled walls were plastered with advertisements in a mix of English and a script she would later come to recognize as Kanada.
The advertisements were for a wide range of things from suitcases to fruit juices, cameras, computers, and things Mary could only guess at. She looked around at all the people flowing past her. Men in dark suits with bright ties, women in saris of all imaginable colors laced with fine gold thread. Women with luxurious gold jewelry dripping from their necks, ears and arms.
Mary headed down the corridor with the quickly moving and noisy crowd and made her way to the immigration station. She had her passport ready with her Indian visa which would allow her to stay for 6 months although she was only staying for 2. A man in a brown military uniform approached her. He had a thick mustache that partially concealed his mouth which was full of what looked like bad teeth. He smiled at Mary in a friendly way and said "Passport?"
Mary handed him her passport and immigration form. He opened her passport and studied her picture. He looked up at her and back down at the photo. He turned the passport sideways and began to flip through the empty pages. Mary watched his hands as he turned the pages of her passport. His hands were small, almost too small for the rifle slung around his neck. They were calloused and covered with scars. Where had he gotten those scars, she wondered.
He stopped when he reached the page containing the Indian visa. The line ahead of Mary had moved on 10 feet closer to the immigration desk. Mary smiled at the top of the soldier's head and he looked up and caught the smile and returned it with his bad teeth.
"Welcome to India," he said through his smile as he handed the passport back. "I hope you find what you came for."