BY

S.J Asher

Bessarabia to Boston: 4,708 miles.
Young, confused, uncertain.
Degrees fresh, their worth unknown.
A journey of questions, a path unclear.

Chișinău airport: Soviet ghosts linger.
Cracked linoleum, cheap cigarette haze.
Last glimpse of home: sunflower fields, grandma’s peeling house.
Bulgarian words, soon to fade.

First flight: heart races, hands fumble.
Seatbelt a puzzle, stomach a knot.
Take-off: a lurch into the unknown.
Old life shrinks, new world looms.

Logan Airport: shine and efficiency shock.
English words swirl, incomprehensible.
But there, in the crowd, a familiar face.
He waits, love anchors in strange seas.

Suburban apartment: cheap, yet home.
Leaky faucet sings, sirens lull to sleep.
Then, the impossible: software engineer hired.
Broken English, unbroken spirit. They see potential; I see challenge.

Cubicle maze: new battlefield.
Code blurs with foreign terms.
Colleagues puzzle, I persist.
Daily tightrope walk, but I learn to dance.

Years pass: one, five, ten.
English improves, accent remains.
“Where are you from?” echoes.
Roots deeper, yet past never fades.

Now, home is here.
Love, constant through it all.
4,708 miles traversed.
From fumbling seatbelts to complex code.

A lifetime. A moment.
Bessarabia to Boston: journey complete.

Daily writing prompt

Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.

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