At two in the afternoon, the board said: "Delayed one hour." By six, it said: "Delayed until 9:00." At nine, it just said: "Delayed." I stopped looking at the board and started looking at the people.
Next to me sat a quiet old man in a grey coat. He had a newspaper and a small bag of sandwiches, and he did not seem angry at all. "Cards?" he asked at ten o'clock. We played on my suitcase. He won the first game. He won the second game. By midnight he had won eleven games, and I had shared two of my sandwiches with him as the prize for his patience.
"You are very calm," I said. "Doesn't it bother you?"
"I have waited at many airports," he said. "The worst thing is to hate the waiting. The best thing is to find good company."
At one in the morning, a voice said: "Passengers for flight 218, please come to gate 9. The captain has arrived."
The old man stood up, folded his newspaper and picked up his bag. "That's me," he said, and showed me a small cap with gold lines. "Don't tell anyone that I let you lose eleven games."
I stayed in my seat for a few seconds with my mouth open. Then I laughed so loudly that half of the airport turned to look.
Fiction note: All people, places and events in this text are fictional.