Love In Destin ✔

01 - dancing queen

~━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━~

𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂

~━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━~

I ALMOST DIED.

Not literally, but more so figuratively. What would happen to the fringes of your heart when your mother tells you that you have to move away from everything you know and cherish?

The thought of leaving behind the memories of my growth and turmoil weighed onto my shoulders like a boulder.

Yet, I relied on the certainty that things would improve. It didn't matter how I felt about the situation; it will never matter in life. You must learn to deal with it and lean on hope. So, I obeyed Mom without question and climbed on the flight to Destin.

Unexpectedly, the matter of me almost falling into the hands of death became a reality. I wish I were joking. But the universe has a habit of making unwanted wishes come true. I wanted to remain in Los Angeles; the universe had other plans.

The plane meant to take me to Florida from Los Angeles kept propelling with ongoing turbulence that caused an unbearable pain to strike my ears. The flight attendant advised me to swallow, and I did, but did it work? Barely.

Anyways, back to me almost perishing. Everything was calm, but I couldn't relax because of the lady snoring relentlessly beside me, even to the point of drooling. It was annoying. An hour into our flight, oxygen masks dropped from the overhead compartments, and the pilot announced for the passengers to put them on.

My hands were shaking; my heart was beating like a drum, and two women had panic attacks.

Breathing in and out, I fought to remain as calm as possible. The lady beside me constantly fanned herself while her face became tomato red.

The plane began moving so that it felt like riding a roller coaster. I gripped my trembling hands on the sides of my seat while the flight attendants passed each passenger, handing out water bottles until they were asked to take their seats. Out of the blue, debris went flying. Some of it punched out a window, almost sucking out a man. The passengers beside the man were able to help him out before he got drawn out of the plane.

People were screaming, children were crying, and my partner was practically sobbing. I was still shaking, and I pursed my lips, forcing back the scream that was bracing to come out. I closed my eyes and focused on cheerful thoughts.

The pilot, whose name slipped my mind due to the situation's intensity, steered the plane to a safe landing at the Tallahassee airport. We learned that the jet suffered an engine failure at 33,000 feet over before getting taken care of while waiting for another plane.

Mom was going berserk over the phone. I was still trembling. I had the urge to cry, but I was stunned at how I had kept calm for the entire flight.

Now, in an oversized sweater and skin-tight jeans, I stand out at the departure exit, completely drenched with sweat. I can hardly get a break because, every minute or so, a random person bumps into me. Some mumble an apology. Others move on.

Wandering my eyes in hopes of detecting Aunt Abby, my hand almost slithers out the handle of my suitcase. I let go of it, wiping my hand against my jeans before grasping the handle again.

Straightening my body, I thank God for finally spotting a pair of green eyes with ginger hair tied into a bun, a replica of Mom. I expect to find her with a smile, but her creased forehead reveals her worry. She's tapping her foot repetitively, one hand placed on her small hip and the other holding up a sign: 'Maya, my sweet niece.'