⁎𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔇𝔬𝔢𝔰𝔫'𝔱 𝔍𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔙𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔰𝔥⁎

𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 : 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚝 𝙰𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚂𝚊𝚍

As they continued to chat with Maevie, Billie couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. She had built a life for herself and Rose here, in this bustling airport, surrounded by planes and people. It had been a difficult journey at times, but she had persevered, and now she had a successful career and a loving daughter by her side.

As Billie was looking at the files she had to get, Rose went over to Maevie. "You know something about the plane, don't you?" Rose asked raising a brow and Maevie smiled. "Well, not as much as Billie does, but I have a little bit of knowledge. I've been working here for a while now and I've learned a thing or two."

"No, I was asking about the plane that my dad was on. AA370. The one that went missing six years back."

Maevie was kinda shocked at first. "Ah, yes. But why are you asking about that?"

"A, I deserve to know what happened to my dad. B, Zoe, my mom's friend told me that you-" Rose got cut off by Billie. "Rose what are you doing? I thought I told you that you're not even gonna speak about this here!" Rose felt guilty and looked down. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"I found the file, we're leaving now. See you Maevie," Billie said, a bit annoyed. She took Rose by the hand and headed towards the elevator. As they descended to the third floor, Billie sighed. "Rose, I know you're curious, but this isn't something we can just talk about with anyone. You know that." Rose hung her head, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to make you angry. It's just that- I feel bad when you cry every time and we all don't know what happened to the plane. I- I never even got to be with daddy. I miss him so much." Billie stopped walking and wrapped her arms around Rose, holding her close. "I know, sweetie. I know you do. But we have to be strong for each other, okay? And we'll find out what happened one day. I promise."

Rose nodded against her mother's shoulder, wiping her eyes. "Okay, Mommy. But I want to know what happened. I need to know." Billie sighed, rubbing Rose's back gently. "We'll find out together, okay? Just not today. You need to go to school. And we can talk about this more after school, when we're at home, okay?" Rose sniffled and nodded, finally pulling away. "Okay, Mommy. I love you."

Billie glanced at her watch and noticed that it was 7:47 a.m. and she rushed to the kindergarten, sending Rose off to her class with a quick kiss on the forehead. As she walked back to the administrative offices, her mind was still preoccupied with the conversation she had with Rose. She knew that her daughter's curiosity was natural, but she also knew that it was dangerous to discuss the missing flight here at the airport.

She drove over to Zoe's house as they agreed for breakfast at a nearby diner. As she parked her car, she saw Zoe's familiar face through the window. She walked in and took a seat across from her friend. "Hey, you okay?" Zoe asked, noticing the somber expression on Billie's face.

"I'm just worried about Rose, you know? She's getting too curious about the whole thing. I don't want her to get hurt." Zoe nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean. But I think it's important for her to know that you're there for her, and that she can talk to you about anything. She might not even realize how much she's bottling up inside."

They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in thought. Then, Zoe spoke up, "Hey, do you want to hear something funny? When I first started working here, I was terrified of planes. My parents used to joke that I was going to end up becoming a pilot's wife or something." They shared a small laugh.

"Then why'd you quit being a pilot?" Billie asked, genuinely curious.

Zoe shrugged. "Oh, you know. Life happens. I had some interest in baking and then yeah. . . here I am. But you know, it's not all bad. I get to work with some amazing people here. And the food is pretty good too." They both laughed again.

𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙