"Welcome to the flight."
"Thanks." The father of a family of four in front of me directed his response to the flight attendants as they welcomed more passengers.
One of the first things I noticed as I entered the plane was the aisle, which was packed with people trying to stow their bags and find their seats.
"Welcome aboard." The flight attendants greeted me with their signature smiles.
"Thanks." I replied, before stopping and waiting for the queue that had formed because of a passenger trying to stow a coat in the overhead compartment to start moving.
In the meantime, I looked at my boarding pass to double-check my seat number, which I couldn't remember even though I had looked at it not too long ago.
1 F... 1 F... I repeated the number in my head and lifted my face to begin the journey through the busy corridor as soon as it cleared.
To the relief of many and to my surprise, the passenger with the jacket finally sat down, only to reveal the deepest shade of dark brown eyes which belongs to a flawless, melanin-rich beauty.
It was the first time our eyes had met, but it was as if during the brief eye contact I had caught a glimpse of something shining through her that I didn't know I had been looking for.
"Do you need help?" I asked after approaching the heavenly smelling young woman who was visibly struggling to stow her luggage in the overhead compartment of the plane.
"Oh yes, thank you." Said the woman with the breathtaking eyes as she lowered the suitcase so I could help her.
"You're welcome." I said with a smile. "Where do you want the suitcase?"
"As close as possible to my seat please." She replied and pointed to her seat 1 D.
"What a coincidence, I'm sitting in 1 F." I said and closed the overhead compartment after putting her suitcase inside.
"Oh, okay, mister window seat. After you, 1 F." She said with a heart stopping smile and motioned for me to go ahead and take my seat.
"Why, thank you 1 D." I said before sitting down and engaging in a conversation with my seatmate once she was seated.
"Cabin crew: prepare for departure." A distorted and distant voice rang out from the plane's sound system, announcing that we were about to take off.
I was so distracted by the small talk that I didn't realize we were about to take off. Normally at this point I'd be wearing noise-canceling headphones to filter out the anxiety-inducing airplane noises, but I got carried out.
As we approached the runway, I got more and more nervous, so I took a deep breath and squeezed the hand rest to control myself.
I never got rattled during a flight, but ever since I had an accident on my last mission six months ago, I've had little bouts of anxiety associated with being on an airplane.
As I sat on this buffeting plane, I quietly looked out the tiny window at the awe-inspiring view and tried to control myself.
But as it turned out, I was doing a terrible job of controlling myself because I was startled by a tap on my left shoulder. I looked over and saw 1 D looking back at me sympathetically, worry written all over her face.
She asked if I needed anything, to which I replied that I didn't. However, she clearly noticed my discomfort and did the unexpected by holding out her hand to me, which I promptly took.
Her velvety hands and the gentle squeeze she gave me, certainly distracted me and triggered the calming response my body needed to relax.
And that's how we were for the entire flight, perfect strangers holding hands like long lost lovers reunited.
YOU ARE READING
Azyria
General Fiction"I can't do this anymore... I just can't." I whispered to myself. "Can you please tell me what happened?" I heard him say before completely zoning out. My heart was racing, my palms were sweating, my ears were ringing and my eyes were burning and mi...
