Taking It

1.1

1.1

The question, if you could have any super power what would it be, came to mind as raven hair told me the story behind our next location. Upon hearing the airplanes I could imagine a little tiny alexander gleefully exclaiming that he wanted to fly. His floppy black hair falling into his eyes and a toothy grin lighting up his face. But it wasn't the alexander lying next to me as he reached out to touch a plane that was soaring close to the ground but not close enough to actually touch.

It was his brother.

Upon telling his mother that he wanted to fly she proceeded to give him a model airplane, which he built and rebuilt a million and one times until it was perfect. From there he would create a fighter jet out of a cardboard box after seeing the movie Pearl Harbor and shouting how thats what he wanted to be. Years laters he would join the air force as a search and rescuer, only to be shot down months later.

When raven hair told me of his brothers death I couldn't stop the tears that had pricked my eyes. I hadn't wanted to cry, it wasn't my place. The story wasn't as heart wrenching as one would think he just told me how he had an older brother who was in the air force and was killed during a mission. There was no further elaboration, no heartbreaking details. The story was shorter than his parents divorce yet longer than his own near death experience, which his brother had been alive for. Yet i still cried.

I wasn't sure why I cried exactly and I was thankful that the sounds of the roaring engines of the planes drowned out the sounds of my sobs. But when i stopped crying, and the tears had dried on my face I turned to raven hair. The single tear that had rolled down the side of his face struck a chord in me.

Despite having died three years ago, raven hair was still suffering from his death. It was clear as the sky above, even a blind man could see that he kept his emotions bottled up. He didn't make any noise as he cried, no motions, no nothing. If it wasn't for that one brave tear i wouldn't have even thought he was still hurting.

"Why is this it your favorite place?" I had to divert his attention, make him realize why he had brought me her. There had to of been something special about the itchy grass beneath us.

Hearing my voice caused him to snap out of his trance, wiping away the wet trail.

"Because it fills the worlds silence with so much noise that it's therapeutic." Shifting a bit he pulled his arms up and folded them behind his head.

"I don't follow."

"Keeping your emotions inside is a dangerous princess. The planes will cover up any noise you could possibly make. You could scream and not a single soul would hear you. You could say what you feel and no one would judge you. Here its only you and the planes." His words stuck with me that day. It's probably why I would rather have my therapy sessions there instead of in some office.

• — • — •

My fingers ran over the curved edges of the A later than night. My mind hadn't considered putting the pieces together again to see how they fit. It would've made guessing his name a lot easier when it came down to it. But as I studied the piece I was startled by a sudden rapid knock against my glass door.

Dropping the puzzle piece to the floor I look up and spy a smiling raven hair, skin paled out by the moons glow. Huffing I stood up from the floor and walked over to the door, unlocking it.

"No picking my lock this time?" I whispered as I pulled it open a bit. Somehow he managed to push it open further and slip his way inside.

"While that would've been more fun, I don't think breaking and entering into your home would put me in your fathers good graces." He whispered in reply. I had wanted to tell him that sneaking into my bedroom was definitely not the way to get into his good graces but the frown on his lips stopped me.