As time flew by, COVID got increasingly worse in the UK. Eventually, my second year of university ended and I was to return to Hong Kong for the summer period to visit my immediate family. Lockdown and social distancing didn't impact me all that much personally; as someone usually only ever left my room for groceries; nothing felt entirely amiss.
It wasn't until my flight back to Hong Kong, did I feel a difference in the world around me. Prior to the start of the pandemic, the airport would be buzzing with people; suitcases being heaved from one end to the other and family members scanning the area for their relatives. Heathrow was silent. A guard stationed at every entrance, with barriers to prevent people from running in. With my face masks and wet wipes equipped, I showed the guard my ticket and was let through. Having mostly grown up in Hong Kong, seeing people wearing masks were a norm; but seeing everybody in Heathrow wearing masks was strangely odd. Heading over to collect my ticket, the employee suggested I fill in the health declaration form online before boarding.
The health declaration form asked for many of my private details, from my name and quarantine address. Sitting on my hand-carry case near the washroom, I stared long and hard going over the information, again and again, it was nerve-wracking. I didn't want to input the wrong information after all.
Sitting near the flight gate, I munched on my pasta with gloved hands. Watching as people began to fill up the place. Before long, a couple of Asian passengers in hazmat suits arrived; with some even wearing masks inside their suits. It felt dystopian. It was also a little funny, everything felt really odd. It was a long arduous wait, by the end of it, I was sitting like a deflated balloon with my legs draped over my hand-carry. My ears began to hurt from the strings of my mask, I must have tightened the strings a little too much...
Beep. I looked up to see flight attendants walking around taking people's temperatures, the man checking my temperature was wearing a face shield and a mask, he might have been wearing goggles too, but I'm not too sure.
I was sat in Premium Economy, it was my first time, each passenger had their own row, disregarding it quickly, I began to wipe down my seat. It was looked filthy, crumbs sat in each crevice and a dried date was staring back at me from the floor. I spent most of the flight passed out. During meal times I would fumble with the cutlery wearing gloves that were two sizes too big. I missed being able to cuddle my Piglet doll during the flight, but I realised it was best to keep him sealed and away from any risk. Instead, I kept my hands' busy scribbling furiously in my notebook.
Once arriving in Hong Kong, we were guided like sheep towards immigration, but before that, we had to walk through a series of stops to collect papers, tags, and information. Finally, I was done, with a tracker on my wrist, I headed to collect my baggage before being hauled into a long tour bus along with my fellow passengers.
We were driven from the airport to a nearby warehouse (AsiaWorld-Expo), where we arrived at our first stop. Everyone was groggily leaving their bags, confused with where we were and what we were doing. After boarding the bus again, a Caucasian couple started complaining, I was tired but tried not to doze off. Not long after, we got to the other end of the warehouse, where we made our way more checkpoints, handing in all the required papers until we were each given a packet enclosing a test tube and some disinfectant wipes. We followed the path silently before being separated into different booths, where people began hocking loogies that echoed against the walls.
We trudged out of the booths and left our spit in a large box, where we entered an exam room. The reception was poor so watching videos was out of the question, so instead, I sat at my desk working on the Pigeon Hole Illustration logo while slowly turning into a walking popsicle. I stayed in my seat most of the time, observing the others in the room, eventually, I fell asleep on my backpack. Sleeping helped to pass time, kept me warm and from going hungry. (They provided sandwiches, but I didn't feel like eating anything) However, this never lasted. I kept getting poked into consciousness, doing my best to comprehend what the worker was saying to me, I ultimately failed to do so; I ended up reading off the papers they shoved me anyways. The wait was finally over, in 7 short hours :) Or so I thought. Rushing out the freezer, we were herded into a corner and left to roast, waiting to be picked up. Many of us watched jealously when a man rode up on a huge tour bus to pick up his daughter. Surrounding her in a cloud of disinfectant, before driving away in their 40 seater vehicle. It was a jarring sight, to say the least, though it gave this other girl (who sat behind me on the plane) and I something to bond over.
It took another hour or more before my mother showed up.
Written and Illustrated by @dearmacherie
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