The closer we got to Port Harcourt International Airport in Nigeria, that Sunday afternoon on April 5, 2021, the more roller coaster-like turbulent the flight seemed on Arik Air’s 737 Boeing.
I felt butterflies in my stomach and my heart rate elevated as I heard the pilot announce apologies and that we had ten more minutes until I would finally come face to face with the man I met online and fell in love with during the Covid lock down in March of 2020.
We spoke everyday for a year, before booking my ticket.
When I saw myself through his eyes, I knew it was love, I knew it was real and worth the risk.
Thankfully the plane landed nice and smooth.
As I deboarded the plane and walked down the landing area, I thought to myself that even though as exhausting as the eighteen-hour flight had been, the sight of the stunning blends of silky and smooth reds and yellows, of Nigeria’s resplendent sunset, and the city’s petrichor scent was a perfect scenic conclusion to my flight.
Among countless of Nigerians who were waiting for their loved ones at the arrival exit, I recognized right away the man I had shared an inexplicable connection and intimacy with, despite the thousands of miles and ocean that had separated us.
When the man who is now my husband, embraced me that day, he looked deeply into my eyes, and kissed me fervently while whispering constantly adoring I love you’s. We both couldn’t stop smiling as we heard people clapping, celebrating the sight of our love.
The people greeted me while melodiously saying Oyiebo welcome and I felt accepted and safe.
It was at that touching and unforgettable moment I knew I had finally found in him and in Nigeria my home.
