I Booked a Flight to Mumbai Before I Filed My Leave
“There are moments when the heart makes the decision before the brain has even had time to ask for permission.” ✈️❤️
I have always considered myself a fairly sensible person.
At least, I like to think I am.
I usually think things through, consider the consequences, and, whenever work is involved, I try to be the responsible adult who files a leave request before making travel plans.
But there was one time when I completely abandoned that version of myself.
It started with a phone call from one of my closest friends.
She was in Mumbai for a workshop, and it was her birthday. I expected to hear the usual birthday excitement when we talked. Instead, I heard sadness in her voice.
She told me that during one of the activities at the workshop, she had been humiliated by some of her female colleagues. As she told me what happened, I could hear her trying to hold herself together.
Then her voice cracked.
She sounded like she was about to cry.
And something in me immediately shifted.
I don’t remember thinking about the cost of the flight.
I don’t remember checking my schedule.
I don’t remember thinking about whether I could get leave from work.
I just remember thinking:
I need to be there.
So I opened my phone and booked a flight to Mumbai.
Just like that.
No plan. No itinerary. No properly filed vacation leave.
Just a plane ticket.
It was only after booking it that my brain finally decided to rejoin the conversation.
Wait.
I haven’t filed my leave yet. 😂
Apparently, my priorities that day were very clear:
Book the flight first. Ask for permission later.
So I filed my vacation leave afterward and hoped for the best.
Luckily, my leave was approved.
But then, as if the story wasn’t spontaneous enough, another thought suddenly hit me:
Wait… I don’t have a visa yet! 😂
I quickly submitted my visa application online and, thankfully, my visa was approved within 24 hours.
At that point, I think I just laughed at myself.
Flight booked.
Leave filed.
Visa approved.
All because I couldn’t stand the thought of my friend being alone and hurting on her birthday.
Looking back, the whole thing still makes me laugh. It was probably one of the most spontaneous decisions I’ve ever made.
But the funny thing is, it didn’t feel spontaneous when I was doing it.
It felt necessary.
My friend had been hurt, she was far from home, it was her birthday, and she was carrying the weight of something that had happened to her.
I couldn’t undo what happened. I couldn’t make those people take back their words or erase the humiliation she had felt.
But I could be there.
So I went.
And that is still one of those moments in my life that reminds me what friendship can look like.
Sometimes, you don’t need a perfect plan.
Sometimes, you just need a plane ticket.
And, apparently, a little faith that the leave and visa will work themselves out. 😂✈️❤️
And since I was already in Mumbai, I might as well explore the place…
📍 Malabar Hill, Mumbai 🇮🇳
“A glimpse of old Mumbai standing proudly among the new. Wandering through Malabar Hill, where grand colonial-era architecture and modern Mumbai meet in one frame.” 🏛️🌆✨
A glimpse of Antilia rising above the old-world streets of South Mumbai. One of the world’s most recognizable private residences, standing in striking contrast to the historic buildings and lush greenery of the neighbourhood.
📍 Cumballa Hill, Mumbai, India 🇮🇳 🏙️🌴
📍 Gateway of India & Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
“Mumbai is a city where history doesn’t sit quietly in museums. It stands proudly by the sea, surrounded by people, movement, and life.”
From the grandeur of the Taj Mahal Palace to the busy waterfront filled with boats, this is the Mumbai I remember: magnificent, crowded, warm, and endlessly alive. 🌊🏛️🇮🇳
💖💖💖
#dailyprompt #dailyprompt1876 #dailyprompt2893 #friendship #india #Memories #motivation
