Little Spark

5 - Family Matters

By the time we touch down, my head is spinning from the sensation of being stabbed in the brain through the ears from both sides, and I have to be escorted off the aircraft.

I move into the galley and try to remain invisible as the other passengers exit the plane. It works for the most part, but of course the one time I do glance up, the man and woman who looked at me weird after seeing mom's lapel pin are staring at me. Actually, it feels more like they're staring into me. Right into my insides. My skin starts to heat again.

I cross my arms and turn away from them, focusing on the shuffling of feet as the line moves out the door to keep myself calm. I exhale in relief once everyone's off.

"Here's your backpack, Bliss." Orion passes the bag to me and I remove the pin and drop it inside while he's grabbing his own stuff.

He extends his hand toward the exit. "After you."

I coolly swing my backpack over my right shoulder and lift my chin, but as I cross the threshold between plane and plane-to-airport tunnel, I fail to notice the small step down and almost trip.

"Careful!" Orion catches my elbow.

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

"You sure? You seem a little jittery. Everything alright?"

"I'm sure. Thank you for catching me. And helping me. And giving me water." I'm too embarrassed to look at him, so I watch my feet.

He falls into step beside me. "No problem. It's kind of my job. Besides, you're a nice girl. It's always a pleasure helping people who actually appreciate it."

"Yeah, I guess," I reply. "Could you tell this was my first flight?"

He looks at me, and smiles again. It's a very a nice smile. All five 'o clock shadowed cheeks and bright teeth and crinkly eye corners. "Don't worry about it," he says. "Everybody has a first flight."

Yeah, but not everyone almost takes a plane down in their sleep.

"What'd you say?" he asks.

Did I say that out loud? "Nothing, nothing. What were you saying about first flights?"

He looks over my face and grins like he's privy to some knowledge I don't have, and my level of discomfort hits the low ceiling of the plane-to-airport tunnel. "Just that everybody has one."

I'm relieved when we step out into the bustling Jackson airport. "That's where I pick up my bags, right?" I ask Orion, pointing at the giant turnstiles in the distance.

"Yep. What's your final destination?"

"Oh. Umm, Cocoa Falls. Have you heard of it?"

"Yep." There's an edge in his response. It makes me nervous, but he doesn't offer any other information. "You're going to visit family?" he asks.

"No, I'm moving there. My mom passed away from lymphoma two and a half weeks ago, so I'm going to live with my aunt and grandmother."

"Mine too," he says.

"Huh?"

"My mom also died of cancer. A couple years ago."

"Oh wow. I'm sorry to hear that, Orion." Although my sympathy is authentic, part of me feels a bit lighter having met another young person who has experienced such a big loss; he seems pretty well adjusted.

He shrugs. "It's okay. You have to keep moving forward, you know? They can't. You can." He turns and locks me in his gray-eyed stare. "So you should."