𝙴𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎

Chapter Two: A Taste of The Sky

"So please hurry leave me, I can't breathe, please don't say you love me."

- First Love/Late Spring by Mitski 

The perfect summer I had planned a few months ago had turned out nothing like I thought it would be. "This summer," I had thought, "Will be the most memorable of them all. I will go to a carnival for the first time with Ivy, make new friends and finally redecorate my room." That had been the plan. But of course, I had done nothing on that list. This summer didn't turn out to be the most memorable, but instead, the summer I dearly want to forget. Because now, I'm sitting on a hard metal chair trying not to cry as I wait for my flight for New York.

My mom complained about something as she sat down beside me, as usual. She grabbed an elastic from her purse and tied her hair up.

"Ugh, can you believe this? First the flight is taking forever, and now the Starbucks line too?!" My mom groaned as she pushed her glasses up.

"It's not their fault," I mumbled "Maybe you could just be patient."

"Huh?" My mom said, "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"It's nothing," I replied quietly. My mom glanced at me as I fidgeted with my thumbs. She sighed.

"Are you excited to live in New York?" She asked.

"If excited is a code word for extremely dreading then yes, I am." I groaned.

"Why? New York is fun, there's so many things you can do!" My mom disagreed somewhat politely.

"New York is loud. So, so loud. And it's full of people everywhere. There's no space to breathe." I countered. My mom was going to argue back when suddenly the speaker said our flight was now boarding. We grabbed our suitcases and waited in line for our flight. I watched the planes fly off through the window and lost myself for a moment. I forgot about everything that was happening for a few seconds. I felt calm and peaceful. I smiled to myself, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.

I put my suitcase under the seat in front of me and sat down next to the window. I buckled my seatbelt and gazed at the sun as it set before we lifted off. A tear ran down my red cheek and I quickly whipped it away. I watched the sky as we flyed upwards; I watched the sunset seep through the fluffy clouds. I looked over to my mom who was clenching to her arm rest. I giggled to myself and looked back out the window. It would have been nice to cry; Since it was a way I tend to let out my emotions, but I'm glad I didn't. I saw a glimpse of a crow quickly pass by my window. I sighed. Maybe, my new life won't be that bad.

After flying for almost 3 hours, we eventually landed in Toronto to change planes. As we took off for the second time, I noticed my mom's hands shaking as they rested on her lap. I grabbed her hand and held it. She looked at me and smiled. I looked at her and nodded, reassuring her that everything would be okay. She put her arms around me and kissed my forehead. She whispered in my ear,

"Oh my lovely, wonderful, amazing daughter. I love you with all my heart." I smiled and looked up at her.

"I love you too, mom." I replied.

"I know this is a big change for the both of us but we will get through it together. I promise everything will be alright."

Flying through the air seems like something that would be in your wildest dreams. But now, thanks to technology, you can fly almost anywhere in the world. While at first, the idea of being in an enclosed place full of people you don't know, for hours, flying to a place where you don't want to be, sounds absolutely terrifying, it was actually quite enjoyable. I could watch the clouds from so close up I could almost touch them, I could see what the birds see, I could watch the beauty of the sky from just out my window. But now, the plane is landing again. I'm finally here. Finally in the city that's now my home. Little did I know, my new life was just getting started.