Promising Memoirs | soft h.s.

Chapter 1.

*

Aubrey.

Fascination. Excitement. Wonder.

Those were the feelings that I carried with me as I looked outside the dusty window of the large aeroplane I was sat in. I'd asked for a window seat so that I could view the plains, the ocean, and the clouds at this high altitude. It was all so mesmerising and very surreal to me.

My eyes travelled to glance over at the businessman who was beside me, intensely focused on whatever he was working on. His brows furrowed as his fingers typed away vigorously at the keys on his laptop. The man's hair was gelled back smooth, and wore a suit with his tie done up neatly, and far from what seemed loose. It puzzled me as to how a person could travel a nine hour flight and be comfortable in such a state. I shook my head as I couldn't understand his logic behind it. I wasn't against someone looking fashionable on a plane, but with a tie done at its tightest, wouldn't that just be plain dangerous?

Oh well.

My focus turned back to everything beyond the transparent plexiglass. Everything seemed barely still as the plane flew through the distance. The whole of the world was so pure and beautiful from this angle and it made me which that it was always like this. The sun shone down on the ground casting shadows and creating the perfect amount of highlights on the fluffy white clouds below. The silhouette of the jumbo aircraft was visible, putting a smile on my face, as I realised that I was truly on this plane — and it wasn't a dream. With no time to spare, my camera was quickly placed between my hands, as I captured several beautiful shots.

It's been years since I've been to London — fourteen to be exact. Born and raised until the age of five in the city known as the capital of England. Of course being at that age, I didn't remember too much; but there were moments that I couldn't ever forget.

I'd kept in touch with my closest friend who lived down the street. The fact that we remained in contact throughout all of these years, was an incredible blessing. Anyone who has the chance to remain in touch with their loved ones, whether a relative or a friend, should never give it up. I'd like to thank technology that made everything easier for doing such a thing. Even though letters and expensive phone call cards were quite nice, it was one of the best things when I grew up.

For the longest time, it was like having a pen-pal friend. They say that pen-pals were generally considered as strangers, but I never agreed with that rule. I mean, who said that it had to be someone you didn't know? It didn't make any sense to me. Once modern technology hit the market and almost everything became considerably cheaper, communicating with others had become absolute bliss.

My parents met and were married in England. At the time, my father was studying abroad here and was quickly smitten towards my mother. To them, it was love at first sight. They'd planned to continue living in the country, especially after I was born; but only days after I'd turned five, my father was offered an exceptional job in Canada, and he couldn't pass it up.

The next thing I knew, was that we were all packed up and on our way to the Land of Maple. After my parents and I moved to Canada, there really wasn't any going back. My grandfather joined us, since my mother couldn't bare leaving him behind. He'd been lonely for many years after my grandma's passing, who I heard only few stories about, but apparently she was wonderful.

Our home where we resided was small and cosy, nestled in the outskirts of Calgary. I loved that it was close to nature's natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains. That was one of my favourite parts of living where we do now.

Growing up, I never maintained my English accent that I pertained when I was a child, it was something that upset me. Even though my mum was English, she somehow managed to lose the dialect — as did I. Whenever I mentioned to anyone that I was born in the U.K., they asked why I didn't have the accent. It was as if, our roots disappeared throughout the years, as we became Canadian.