Before the city finds its voice, I'm already on the road. The route ahead familiar, the morning still dark and unhurried. There's a pride in that preparation, in showing up ready before anyone asks you to. As the light shifts across the buildings and Abu Dhabi slowly stirs, I become part of its earliest rhythm, the one most people never see.
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The passengers come one by one, offering a nod, a smile and a greeting. I know some of their faces the way you know a neighbour, not their whole story, but enough. Maria boards at her usual stop and we share the kind of greeting that only exists between people who have crossed paths enough times to feel like something. That's the part of this job nobody tells you about. The connections that grow in the spaces between destinations.
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Saadiyat is wide awake and buzzing as we move into the bustle. I watch my passengers step out into their day, ready to start their day and do it all over again tomorrow. Abu Dhabi is a city of grand ambitions and stunning landmarks, but its real magic lives here, in the ordinary morning, in the warm feeling of familiarity.
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