Dear Mother,
I don't know why I'm writing this. Maybe it's because I don't want you to think I'm dead or something. Anyway, I'm leaving for New York. Jane from down the street is going to New York as well; she was going to travel with her husband but he got sick so she gave the ticket to me. I will be staying with her in a hotel. By the time you read this I will probably already be on the plane. I just need time to blow off steam so it would be greatly appreciated if you could just stay in Georgia and not come looking for me. I'll be back in maybe a year. I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to start over and when I come back maybe we can start over as well. Don't worry, I won't forget you.
Love, Elizabeth
I sighed and folded the letter. As I shoved it into the envelope I pushed away any second thoughts. I was doing this. Quickly, I scribbled the word 'Mom' in cursive onto the envelope and propped it up on the kitchen counter. I heaved my tattered suitcase off of the chair and slung my backpack over my shoulder. My eyes scanned the cluttered table in front of me, searching for my phone. Finally, I saw and grabbed it. I put it into the chest pocket of my dad's old flannel that I always wore when I needed comfort. My phone weighed down the pocket but I didn't mind. I took one last look at the home I had grown up in.
The taxi driver outside honked, disrupting my recalling of memories that had occurred in this very house. I opened the door and walked outside, locking it behind me. Taking a deep breath, I walked nervously to the taxi.
"Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, please." I told the driver when I got into the car. He grunted and the car began to move.
*****
Forty minutes later I had just paid the taxi driver and I was getting out of the yellow vehicle. With my suitcase in one hand and my backpack in the other, I stared at the airport in front of me. My hands were shaking. I walked to the doors and entered the building. The time that it took to give them my suitcase, have them check my backpack, and give them my ticket gave me a lot of time to rethink this crazy spur-of-the-moment idea.
"Flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport is now boarding at gate 4." The lady over the intercom announced. That was my flight.
I walked to the gate and saw Jane waiting for me.
"Jane!" I called. She didn't hear me. "Jane!" I hollered again, this time louder. She looked around and when her eyes landed on me she smiled. Her hair bobbed as she jogged lightly over to me.
"Hey Elizabeth! Let me carry your suitcase for you." She grabbed my suitcase and we boarded the plane together. Our seats were right next to each other. Jane said I could have the window seat and she would sit in the middle seat.
Eventually, the plane took off. It was getting dark, the time was probably 7:30 pm. When I asked the flight attendant she told me that the flight would be approximately two and a half hours so we would arrive at about 10:00 pm.
I looked out the window at the world below and leaned back to take a nap.
*****
I woke from my nap when Jane nudged my shoulder so I could hear the flight attendant over the intercom. "Attention passengers, the plane will be landing in five minutes. Please buckle up. Thank you!"
I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and freaked out momentarily. Where the hell was I? I buckled my seatbelt as I remembered that I was on a plane to New York. I smiled to myself.
When the plane landed it shook and rattled. I thought we would crash. The plane came to a stop and I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I made it. Getting off the plane was difficult and annoying because there were so many people crowded into a little walkway. People were getting their bags from the compartments above and some were just struggling to cope with the sound of a baby screaming. It took me at least thirty minutes to get off the plane because a little kid threw up in the middle of the walkway and they had to clean it up.
