turbulence (HILEON AU)

1- Take Off

Hilal loved school breaks. She loved the fact that she had time for herself, for relaxing and most of all time to visit her family. Visiting her family was something she looked forward to more than anything. The only negative was the stress that came with travelling alone and the inevitable inconveniences that came with it. She would double check everything before leaving and then check again to make sure everything went according to her plan. She had everything organised and perfectly planned. Getting to the airport was also meticulously planned. She ordered a car already a week before in advanced and she had her friend Fatma's offer to drive her as a backup plan.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Or so she thought...
Hilal grabbed her small suitcase and her purse and headed out the door to the car she ordered. She was instantly calmer knowing she'd get to the airport and she had both of her bags clutched in her hands to make sure she wouldn't forget anything. When the driver stopped and she got out of the car to Athens International Airport, with her bags in hand and everything triple checked (out of pure stress) she entered the terminal and went to the security check as soon as it opened to make sure she would get there on time and have time to call her family members and buy some gifts before the flight back to Izmir.
Hilal didn't seem like the type of person to be a control freak. She was always more stubborn than her sister Yildiz and voiced her opinions without much of a care for other people's reactions. Despite that, Hilal was very careful and always made sure things went according to her very intricate plans. Even as a child she would organise things in her own odd way that Yildiz and their mother had to learn to understand. So it was no surprise that she had everything planned out, if you knew her well enough.
Walking through this airport would have been so stressful for her three years ago when she was still teaching herself the basics of the language that was written all around her. Hilal got past the security check, surprisingly without any headscarf related issues and immediately went to the dutyfree to buy some gifts for Yildiz and her younger brother Mehmet. After a while of looking she bought Yildiz her favourite liptint and Mehmet one of those huge Toblerone chocolates that are always brought home from the airport. Leaving the dutyfree shop was practically leaving a labyrinth except instead of terrifying monsters there were random ladies asking if you'd like to smell a sample of some new perfume they had in stock. Trying to minimise her stress levels was still relatively easy at this point and she went along her way and finally got to sit down and call her family. Yildiz was at home with yakup and immediately answered Hilal's call where they chatted for a good half hour before Hilal's gate opened and she decided to look on the map to get there and board early. Of course her gate had to be across the whole crowded airport. She went to double check her things again.
Suitcase? Check.
Purse? Check.
Dutyfree bag With the abnormally large Toblerone in it? Check.
Phone? Check.
Boarding pass & passport? Check.
It was almost perfect. Walking to the gate took twenty minutes with the confusing map and the crowd of people rushing to return to or escape from  their lives.
When she  got to the gate  and sat down, she double checked all her stuff and went to the forming line of people waiting to board the plane. There were only like five people infront of her, and she could see some people arriving to the now long queue of people. When she boarded the plane and found her seat she sat down and pulled out the book she was currently reading. About 5 pages later, she heard someone sit next to her but didn't look away from her book. "war and peace? That's a good one." a deeper voice said in Greek. She looked at the man sitting next to her and her eyes widened. She knew him. "Leon?" she asked in shock. "Hilal? It's been years! What are you doing in Greece?" the taller, moustached man asked her now in Turkish with a heavier accent than he had when they were kids, reminding him about how long it's been since he spoke it. "I was here studying, I took a year abroad to improve my Greek" she says acting like it's something the now man, she hasn't seen for a decade would know. "that too! Since when do you speak Greek?" he asks almost shocked, still smiling."I started learning from books when I was twelve, then when I got fluent I decided to do a year abroad in Athens" she says looking at Leon's face trying to figure out what changed about it other than the mustache.
"You were always very interested in writing and books. I remember you taking my books sneakily and then asking me about my favourite parts" he says remembering his teenage years in Turkey fondly. Hilal laughed quietly at that memory. "i did do that, but in my defence I was eleven and wanted to have something to talk to you about, Leon." Hilal kept eyeing him, still not figuring out what else about him changed. "it did really end up helping me though, I'm only a year away from a degree in journalism now." Leon smiled at her "I'm glad my books helped you out in the end. Do you still have the one I gave you? The copy of the odyssey I annotated?" Hilal opened her purse and pulled the book out "i brought it with me for the summer because I'm almost entirely sure that my parents put my books from my old room in the basement." she says smiling.
After a while of them chatting about everything and nothing, the flight attendant announced that it was time to take off.
Hilal's anxiety must have been obvious to the mustached man, seeing as his warm brown eyes and extended hand met her gaze. Taking her smaller cold hands in his, he smiled at her "i can't believe your hands are still cold like you were when we were younger." he chuckles at her, his expression still warm and comforting. "not much has changed, Leon. I'm still me." she says softly, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "tell me about izmir, hilal. I haven't been since." he asked, trying to calm the girl infront of him, her hands still held in his warmer ones. Hilal looked up, as if to think. "it's honestly gorgeous. Most of our old neighbourhood is the same,other than the fact that Yildiz's fiancé yakup owns the pub and coffee shop now. Oh! Yildiz's wedding is in two weeks, that's new!" she says remembering how far apart their lives had split since Leon returned to greece a decade ago. Who knew that by booking this flight over the Aegean sea, hilal would reignite the flames of her first crush. She wouldn't let it get away this time."Leon? Can I have your number?" she asked without hesitation. He smiled at her. "i can tell you more about izmir then, maybe show you around?" Hilal's hands were now leaving the hold of Leon's warmer, larger hands to grab her phone. Leon looked at his own hands sadly for a moment before taking his own phone out of his pocket "i got a new number, since I'm moving back to Turkey. You can put yours in my phone and I'll be sure to call you when I get home, Hilal." placing the phone in Hilal's hand gently, she typed in her number and passed the phone back "save my contact and call me when you get home." Hilal said with a smile.