To the Stars and Back

Chapter Eight

       Of course, a tornado hit right when I returned home. What was luck anyway? Tornadoes were a common thing in these parts, so I was used to them. Back home, there was a procedure I took during a tornado because we had a cellar--like most people do--to climb into. But here at the airport, what was there to do?
      As the sirens went off, people scattered around the airport frantically running to find somewhere in the big building to get to a safe spot. It was a silly scene in my opinion, but I understood it. I wasn't nearly as panicked as others like I ought to have been.
    Last month, on May twenty-first, there was a powerful twister in Woodward that killed an large amount of people. People all around that area were tense since Trenton was not too far North from Woodward.
    This one was miniscule compared to that. In fact, compared to many. The majority of people only overreacted which I say because this one couldn't even kill a human. Maybe a cat, but a human was a little "up there" unless somebody was by a window and got impaled by a shard of glass. I winced at the idea.

    The ladies room was crowded when I went in there with my suitcase to keep safe from windows and doors. I could hardly move around once I was in there. I squeezed my way into a corner so that I wouldn't be awkwardly standing in the middle of the bathroom. Next to me, bundled up into a ball was a little blonde girl crying into her knees. I searched around the bathroom to find her mom, but I found nobody looking for her.
    She was lost.
    I sunk to her level and gently placed my arm on her shoulder, so she lifted her terrified gaze to me and I smiled some to let her know that I wasn't a threat. She looked about seven and her eyes were like honey. She'd grow up to be stinkin' beautiful. Her face softened when she got the hint. "What's your name?" I started.
    She sniffed and the tears still fell freely only they slowed down. "Lizzy," she hummed.
    I took a mental note just in case I had to take further charge on getting her to her mom. She didn't have any sort of accent, so I assumed that she wasn't from the South. "Lizzy, I'm Atlas. Did you lose your momma?" To be lost in another state at such a young age had to be traumatizing for her.
    Lizzy nodded. "I ran off when I heard that loud noise so that I wouldn't hear it no more and Momma did not come with me."
    Considering her age, I didn't blame her for running off because of a loud noise. When I was that young, I didn't quite care for them either. "Well, stay with me and when it's safe, I will help you find her, okay?"
    "Okay."
    I then remembered the stuffed giraffe I carried with me that I got from the zoo when I was with Audrey. I was hesitant to do so, but it would bring Lizzy some more comfort. I pulled out the giraffe sticking right into Lizzy's face, thinking of a random name. The name of my favorite book growing up came to my head. Giraffes Can't Dance. "This is my friend, Gerald." She perked up some which made me smile. "He helps me when I'm scared and he is sure to help you. Will you take care of him for me?"
    Lizzy beamed, nodding enthusiastically then pulled the giraffe right from my hand.
Gerald would be much better in the hands of a little girl than a high school graduate.
    "I love you, Gerald!" Lizzy hugged the giraffe close, making me smile from ear to ear. As somebody that never had a little sister and admired how Audrey was with me, it made me happy to do the same with Lizzy since I never got the opportunity otherwise.
    Sitting there on the icky bathroom floor next to Lizzy, I began to ask her basic questions; what her favorite color was, her favorite subject in school, her favorite animal. Once she told me the answers, she added reasoning behind each of them. I wasn't able to get a word in edgewise, which I didn't mind.
     At least, she was feeling better.
    Some fifteen minutes later, an announcement sounded on the intercom. "Alright, folks. The tornado is gone. Ya'll are safe to continue with your lives."
    I breathed a sigh of relief and Lizzy mimicked me. "Can we go find my momma now?" She asked in a desperate tone.
    "Yeah, let's go." I stood up from the floor with my suitcase and Lizzy did the same. I hadn't even noticed that she had a backpack. On her back was a seemingly heavy black backpack covered with peace signs of every color. There were wheels on the bottom and a handle coming out from the top. Lizzy took my hand, holding the giraffe stuffed animal in the other hand, following me out as we practically shoved past women from the bathroom.
    As if like clockwork, Lizzy released my hand, sprinting to a woman searching hysterically for someone or something. Her. "Oh, there you are!" Had her mom been Lizzy's own size, she might've fallen over from the force of Lizzy's pouncing embrace.
    Something inside me stung some as I remembered Mom and how much I loved her. For Lizzy's sake, I hoped that her mom would be around for a long time.
    I followed in Lizzy's direction to her and her mom unable to drop the grin as I looked down at Lizzy. "I see you found your momma."
    Lizzy giggled, hugging me around the legs unexpectedly as her mom surveyed the scene. "Thank you, Atlas!"
    "No more running off, okay?" I told her as not an order, but as if I was asking it of her.
    "Okay!" She basically yelled. Her mom chuckled behind her and Lizzy backed to, holding onto her mom's leg with one hand and the giraffe still in the same one as before.
    "Thank you for keeping an eye on her," her mom said. She had more of an accent than Lizzy had which was really none at all.
    "It really wasn't a big deal. I'm in no hurry."
    She seemed to acknowledge it then huffed, not rudely. "Where are you off to?"
     I shrugged. "Just home. And you?"
    "Utah. I grew up around here and we were visiting my mom. Now we are just headed home."
     Ah, that explained it.
    "Well, have a safe flight." We made a little more smalltalk then I bid them farewell and Lizzy hugged me one more time before she and her mom scampered away hand-in-hand with the giraffe.

    I didn't stay with Lizzy and help her to be able to pat myself on the back or anything, but deep down, I hoped that Mom was proud.

    I didn't know if Audrey knew about the tornado, but I called her anyway to let her know that I was okay. Was it a problem that Dad wasn't the first person I called? Or even considered calling? And that he didn't call to check on me? Audrey flipped out some, though I was able to calm her down pretty quickly. She told me to be careful and to call her if I needed anything, so I assured her that I was perfectly fine.
    It was more of a reaction than Dad wouldn't given me.

    When I got home, Dad was asleep on the sofa. I wondered if he even knew that a twister had probably been outside this house less than an hour ago. I assumed he didn't.
    Are you home? My phone vibrated the second I shut my bedroom door. A text from Sawyer. Lying on my bed, I sighed knowing that I shouldn't, but I responded to his message. Maybe it just had something to do with the tornado.
Yeah.
    Are you okay? It did. And it wasn't even that bad, though he still decided to check in despite my not being rude. I wished that he didn't care about me so much. And that he didn't tell me because the words "I like like you" had been floundering in my head for nearly two weeks and it was impossible to get rid of them.
    I'm fine. You?
    Well, I'm alive, aren't I? A double text. Glad you are too.
    I felt myself blush some and I hated myself for it. Stop it, Atlas! Stop it!
    I received one more a few seconds later. How was Louisiana?
    Fun. Me and Audrey went to the Humane Society yesterday.
    Ugh... What was I doing?
Make any new friends?
    Yes. There was a dog named Winston that she's planning to adopt.
    Is "she" referring to your sister or Heavenly Mother?
    I laughed out loud hoping that I hadn't just woken up Dad. Sawyer's humor was so basic and stupid, but I enjoyed for some reason that I was unaware of. However, it was probably because I had never experienced such silly humor in all my life.
It was a shame that I couldn't let myself be anything more than an acquaintance with him.
I sent my short reply then set my phone aside. Dork LOL.
    A few minutes passed with me staring at nothing, thinking about the fact that Sawyer was the only person to check in. At the thought, I realized that I hadn't even texted Sofia to check in on her. What a nice best friend I was. She was likely home by now because she left Brazil early that morning, but I had to make sure.
You okay? How was Brazil?
    Not a minute later, she responded. SO fun! I met a fofo! How was it with Audrey? Wanna hang tomorrow?
     I laughed to myself at the fact that we literally joked about her meeting a cutie and that she actually did. Yeah sure. Audrey's was fun. I really missed her. What's his name?
     Benicio! He is so cute! I met him on the beach. He's a new friend of Maria.
     Maria was Sofia's cousin. They were the same age and spent every waking moment together when Sofia visited Brazil. Maria had never come to Oklahoma, so I never met her, but I'd spoken on the phone with her a few times. She was friendly.
     I'm excited to hear about it! Don't leave anything out. I clicked back then sent.
    Boa noite!
     I stood up, throwing my phone on my bed watching it as it bounced right onto the floor. I was not ready to go to sleep yet, so I glanced out my balcony door window. There were a few clouds and it was drizzling outside. I threw on my Beatles sweatshirt that hung over the chair near my writing desk then went outside to look at the stars.
     I leaned my body against the railing, hypnotized by the constellations I was able to find. I inhaled then exhaled, thinking about the day; from visiting the zoo with Audrey this morning to getting on flight home to landing at the same time a tornado was preparing to grace the airport with its presence and horrify a little girl. And that I helped that little girl. I thought about if her and her mom were on their flight home to Utah by now or if they needed to stay in a hotel for the night. I hoped they would return home in one piece.