Crash Landing

crazy

*Mae*

"Mama! No! Turn back! Please!"

I sobbed and begged anyone aboard the shuttle as the spacecraft took off from the military base, as it flew its passengers up and away from the destruction that lay before our very eyes, from the mass chaos and broken society that ruined not just our countries but our planet as well.

My heart shattered in half as the explosion that ricocheted throughout the military base caused the ship to shake with turbulence and the cries of broken souls could be heard for miles up into space and beyond the walls that could keep us safe.

Because I wasn't the only one who was distraught about the fact that everything and everyone I knew was gone.

Dead.

And I was leaving any trace I've ever known of those lifelong memories behind.

We ruined everything that was ever good about our planet, we destroyed it, punished it, burnt it to the ground and expected it to forgive us for our sins and intentional wrongdoings.

But Mother Nature could only forgive so many times before she enacted her own plan of destruction.

And the damage that was done could only be described as catastrophic.

My sobs of pain and anger, loss and guilt were muffled just like those strangers who were standing right next to me.

Because just like all these other people, I was suffering loss amongst a group of strangers and maybe that's what could connect us through to the bigger meaning of life.

That somehow, if this strategic plan of loss and agony had to happen, then it had to amount to something bigger than any of us could've ever dreamed up.

But right now, I wasn't worried about anything that involved other people beyond my immediate family and the soft crying sounds that Collette was making against my shoulder and neck broke my aching heart into a million little pieces.

I ran my fingers through her matted curls, shushing her the best I could as I hugged her a bit tighter to my body.

"Shh.…It's okay, it's all okay, Lettie. We're okay, we're okay…."

I said quietly as I comforted her, the rattling and shaking of the ship causing Lettie to whimper as she curled even more so into my body.

If she could become part of me, she definitely would have at this point but I didn't mind.

We were grieving and she was seeking out comfort just as I was.

"Too loud….Make it stop…"

Running my hand over the back of her head, I kept shushing her and humming as I tried to comfort her in the only way that I knew.

Soon enough, the sobs of the fellow grieving passengers quieted down almost at the same time that the ship broke through the crest of the Earth's atmosphere and maybe the silence was expected, because with tragedy came beauty as well.

Because what lay before us was a black sky filled with stars that were so bright, it was as if someone was shining a flashlight through them, illuminating them for only our eyes to witness their magnificent display of pure beauty.

And I shouldn't have been so startled by their majestic presence, after all I had seen my fair share of stars on the holograms projected onto my bedroom ceiling back home, but this was different.