Unbroken

• One •

                                                                          COLETTE

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry to inform you that our departure has been delayed further. We apologize for the inconvenience. Do not hesitate to contact our staff for any assistance," the flight attendant speaks through the microphone.

I let out a deep sigh. It seems like the whole world had conspired against me to make it difficult for me to reach my destination. The cab taking me to the airport was late, and in my hurry of getting to the airport, I had forgotten a handbag at the apartment. I made plans of ditching it, only to remember that it contained gifts that I'd gotten for my friends, so I made the long way home to retrieve it. All of this had delayed me by a whole forty minutes.

Thankfully, I have the habit of always setting out early, which made it possible for me to reach in time for the check-in. But my hopes of making it were shattered by the long queue at the check-in desk. I was about to give up hope, but I realized that I was saved by the delay of the flight.

The flight had been delayed by four hours. Even after the flight arrived and all of us embarked on it, we only kept circling around the airport due to the failure of getting a signal.

All these events led me to overthink my decision of going to Canada. Although I loved travelling, it had been a long time since I had gotten out of the United Kingdom due to work and classes. As summer had begun, I wouldn't miss out on classes, but I would miss out on my precious workdays. Needless to say, my boss hadn't been too excited about the whole thing.

"We have recently signed so many clients to our firm, Colette. There has recently been a splurge in the number of cases; this is a huge opportunity for you to make new contacts. You're missing out on a lot of experience," Lillian, my boss had told me.

What she was saying was true. I would be missing out. Experience was key to becoming an excellent lawyer. This also affected my chances of getting a full time job at the firm after graduation. But all of that had seemed trivial when I had received a mail from Ira one rainy afternoon.

From: Ira
To: Evelyn, Colette, Vivianna
Subject: Holiday in Canada

Dear C,
          How's it going? It feels like centuries have passed since the four of us last met! Bella recently gave me the keys to my mum's holiday house near Thunder Bay City, Canada. Seeing what a great opportunity it would give us to catch up, I simply knew we had to go. We can go hiking, swimming in the waterfalls and many more of our favorite things! I have enclosed the details. An adventure awaits you. I hope you'll venture on it.

                                                                                     Ira

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If Bella – who is Ira's aunt - had told Ira about the Canadian house, it was sure to be amazing. I knew right then that I had to go.

I stop myself from twisting and turning in my seat and fiddling with my seat belt and remind myself of how important the three of them are to me and how much I miss them. Taking a sip of water, I push my second thoughts away.

I am going to Canada for an adventure holiday with my three best friends –who were more like family- whom I hadn't met in the last two years. What could possibly go wrong?