LOVE, LOSS, LEYSIN LOOKING

FLY ME TO...LEYSIN

Agnetha's heart raced as they completed their flight check in at the gate. She was as ever nervous of the forthcoming flight, but for once it wasn't just the prospect of flying that had her heart pounding. It was the feel of a familiar, warm and soft hand, gently holding her own left hand that had set her heart, her pulse racing. The hand of course was the right hand that belonged to Bjorn, he'd noticed how her nerves had kicked in and how her demeanour changed as the time came to go aboard the aeroplane. Instinctively and without a second of hesitation, he'd stepped forward and taken her hand, gently giving a reassuring squeeze. His own heart was thumping hard and for Bjorn there was no fear of flying to blame for this. The reason was the stunningly beautiful blonde girl who held his hand at this moment, he would give anything to have this sensation permanently and again regretted his choice from the previous night. Passing through the boarding gate they made their way along a corridor towards the aeroplane that would whisk them to Switzerland "You feeling okay? Or do you want to stop for a moment? Gather your thoughts" he was gentle, full of genuine concern and wanting to do anything to help. Agnetha turned to him and shook her head "Thanks, but no. If I stop here I won't go another step!" she smiled, a somewhat forced smile, flying never put a smile upon her face and this was no exception. She was so grateful for his help, so pleased with his attention, just the feel of his hand holding hers made her feel much better. She wondered again about the previous night, had he been hiding something from her at breakfast? She was sure, positive that he was and his actions here reinforced that notion. For Bjorn this was a moment of very mixed feelings, he hated to see how much flying scared her, he could see in her eyes the fear rising, her nerves on edge. But at the same time he was getting an opportunity to be close to her, to feel her hand and although it maybe inappropriate he was enjoying the sensation! Bjorn looked at her closely, studying her face, her expressions, fear and concern were clear all over her features, but there was something else, he watched her closely and for a moment or two thought he'd caught a glimpse of the kind of sparkling eyes that signified such deep love for him. His heart almost burst out of his chest at that moment! Had she felt as he did last night? he looked at her again, she was biting her bottom lip as she so often did, he wanted to distract her, prevent her fears overwhelming her "I don't know about you, but I for one am enjoying this little stroll, especially the company and her hand in mine! Makes me happy and feel rather naughty!" he'd always had that somewhat risque, inappropriate sense of humour and in spite of herself Agnetha laughed at his sheer cheek "Since when did you not feel naughty? As I recall it's a 24 hour thing with you! Sex maniac!" Bjorn laughed deeply, she amused him so often over the years and still did so, he was also relieved to see he'd managed to stop her over focusing on the flight ahead of them "Well, it's not my fault that I fell in love with this girl in 1969 who makes me think about it all the time! Or maybe it is my fault, I should have married someone ugly! But Benny turned me down!" her laughter filled the air as she relished his sheer stupid antics "I'm sure you'll end up in a padded room with a straight jacket on!" he looked at her, a picture of pure innocence "Hmmm. Would you visit me?" she smiled genuinely "Of course I would. Besides, with a straight jacket on I'd be safe, knowing you'd have to keep your hands to yourself!" The silly, flirty conversation had swallowed up their walk and now they arrived at the entrance to the aeroplane, decked out in specially designed ABBA decals "Hello my name is Heidi, your stewardess. May I see your tickets please?" Benny and Frida headed in first, Linda and Christian with them, allowing their parents to navigate Agnetha's entry to the aeroplane. She took several deep breaths and allowed Bjorn to lead her gently into the aeroplane and they made their way to first class and found their seats, on the opposite side of Benny and Frida who were literally next door "Hello young lovebirds. No attempting to join the mile high club please!" full of cheek and humour Frida added to her words with a suggestive wink. Agnetha turned around to her best friend "How do you know we haven't already joined?" Frida looked at her sideways "You'll have to spill the beans whilst we're away! Linda had been listening, confused as to what was being spoken of "What's the mile high club? Can I join? Do they have teddy bears there?" Benny had to suppress his own laughter and looked over to Bjorn in desperation, as ever his friend didn't let him down "The mile high club is something grown ups join and you are too young yet little lady" satisfied Linda returned her attention to her little handbag and began searching for her plastic container, which held cards for a game of snap. Benny could now laugh as could Frida, whilst Christian, totally oblivious to what was going on, proceeded to pick his nose! Buckling up their seat belts they settled and awaited the beginning of their flight, making small talk, anything to distract her from the coming moments. Bjorn eyed her closely as the stewardess ran through the safety procedures, her breathing quickened and he could see the fear begin to rise as she listened to all the details of what to do if something went wrong. He leaned to his left, close enough to whisper "Don't worry, I'm here, whenever you need me" she looked at him and smiled "Thanks, I may take you up on that offer" Finally the voice of the Captain came over the tannoy announcing their departure "Please do not remove your seat belts until the sign switches off and please enjoy the flight" They began to taxi down the runway, it was surrounded by snow banks, wind whistled along the vast empty territory and as they gained speed Anetha tightly gripped the arms of her seat, knuckles white as she gripped hard, Bjorn noticed and without hesitation offered his left hand to her "Come on, grab hold of me. Squeeze as hard as you like" without a second thought Agnetha took his hand, smiling and silently mouthing "Thank you". She gripped hard as the plane began to lift off and a familiar feeling of being queasy came to her, but she was comforted just by Bjorn's mere presence, the feel of his hand holding hers, he watched closely for any signs of outright panic, which had occurred before and he wished as so often before that he could wave a magic wand and cure this for her. The plane levelled off and began it's journey, passengers relaxed, save for one very famous Blonde, who was as uncomfortable in the air as ever. For a few minutes everything seemed normal, but suddenly a spluttering noise began and it felt as though the aeroplane was about to stall "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Agnetha now began to panic, sweat appearing on her top lip, Bjorn was horrified, she did not need this "It's okay, it's okay. Look at me, concentrate on me" she turned to him and he could see real fear in her eyes, worsened by a severe shudder and more spluttering from the aeroplane and it's engines. A horrible sound of metal grating against one another came next and suddenly with a lurch the plane descended, a little too rapidly. Bjorn silently cursed as he pulled her to him "Close your eyes angel, just focus on and listen to my voice, nothing else" she had clamped her eyes shut, fearing to look, allowing her imagination to run wild, happily focusing on Bjorn's gentle voice as he tried to comfort her. Finally after some wrestling the Captain levelled the descent and brought them back to a more normal altitude, his voice came over the tannoy once again "Ladies and Gentleman we have a serious problem. One of our engines has stalled, another is malfunctioning. We are forced to switch it off and turn back to Arlanda on two engines. Pleases stay seated, keep your seat belts fastened. I will warn you that in worst case scenario we may not reach the runway and maybe forced into an emergency crash landing, preferably in the snow bank. I will keep you informed" Many passengers exchanged worried looks, meantime Bjorn held Agnetha tightly, trying to calm her, she was panic stricken, unable to speak with sheer fear. The aeroplane continued to splutter and backfire as they made the return journey, several times a shudder ran through the whole aeroplane, causing Agnetha's fear to increase, Bjorn now pulled her to his chest, both arms wrapped around her "It's okay, I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me, like you always used to. I won't let you down" he was quiet, gentle and soothing, he knew enough that although she was frozen with fear, the sound of his voice often helped her at times like these. Her mind was playing all kinds of worst case scenarios and try as she might she could not shake the images. Suddenly the plane dropped alarmingly, at huge speed, Agnetha gripped Bjorn for all she was worth and he whispered comforting words to her, constantly soothing with his voice. The Captain briefly spoke "Ladies and Gentleman, engine three has shut down, we are on one engine. We think it's prudent at this time to make an emergency crash landing. Please hold on to something and may God protect us" Bjorn was now genuinely worried, not only about the landing but also about the fragile state of the gorgeous Blonde he held in his arms "Come on please, just get us down safely" he muttered quietly, wishing with all his might for safety. The aeroplane continued to judder and then dove sharply, immense speed propelling it like an old style V1 or V2 rocket. there was no turning back now, it was this kind of landing or just a crash which could cause disaster, killing many if not all onboard. Downwards it continued, racing now as gravity took full effect, pushing the stricken aircraft even quicker towards Terra Firma and the chance of a snow bank landing. The Captain, Co Pilot and Navigator scanned the outskirts of the airport as they came close, having informed air traffic control of their unscheduled return. To his left the Captain spotted a huge snow bank piled off at one side of a runway and seized the chance, informing air traffic control of his plan. he expertly steered the stricken aeroplane, lowering his flaps to reduce speed as much as possible, the speed still high even on one dodgy engine. he pointed the nose at the snow bank and at full throttle rammed into the snow. In the passenger compartment chaos reigned as the impact was felt strongly, people saved only by their seat belts, save for one person who was saved by her beloved. Snow covered the plane as they thumped to a brutal halt, silence suddenly took charge, an eerie, unsettling silence. Damage was everywhere, windows shattered, allowing snow to pour in, seats forced from their fastenings were strewn everywhere, passengers locked in by seat belts, many lying on the floor, some forced into a crushing encounter with the rear of the seat in front of them. Benny, Frida, Linda and Christian were shaken, yet okay, the Children who's screams were tended to by their favourite Aunt and Uncle. Frida surveyed the scene, opposite the area was empty, seats ripped from their moorings "where are they? Where's Agnetha and Bjorn? Benny, I can't see them!" she was panicking, as was Benny but he needed to be strong. He unfastened his seat belt and stood a little shakily and looked around. The sight he saw mortified him he gently nudged Frida and brought her to her feet "Look, over there, on the floor. It's them and it doesn't look good" Frida followed his pointing finger, there on the floor, upside down and not moving were Agnetha and Bjorn. To Frida and Benny they looked....dead! ..

This chapter is dedicated to my late Mum and Dad who, had life been fair, would have been celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on October 24th. Alas life had other plans. I hope they can celebrate this special day in a much better place, free of illness and reunited in 2023 after 32 years apart. RIP and Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad. Think of you both.