Barely There

Chapter 7 - Free Fall

The nose of the plane dipped.

Leda held onto the armrest of the seat tightly, holding her breath as the plane flew down towards the Earth. A baby started screaming at the sudden shift in sensation and the passengers groaned in annoyance. Her head throbbed distantly as she joined in with the mumbled swears of the other tired passengers.

The plane landed with a jolt, the loud whirring of the wheels painfully loud in her ears. The armrest molded under rough grip. As the metal tube slowed down, she slowly relaxed against the uncomfortable seat of the plane.

The high-pitched voice of a flight attendant replaced the sound of the wheels as people on the plane began to stand up. They filed out in tight lines while she sat patiently in her seat.

She waited.

Once loneliness surrounded her, Leda stood up, grabbing her small bag with her and trudging out of the plane. She made her way through the entire airport without processing the world around her, only looking at the world again once she was seated in the stuffy cab. Stains covered the light grey seats and the wheel was covered with greasy fingerprints. Leda shifted on the seat, trying to move away from the dark rust-colored stain that was to the left of her. The driver's gruff voice sprung out.

"Where to?"

"Mirage cemetery please."

The wobbly, tired wheels rolled on the smooth roads and clouds covered the sky in dark fluffs. The driver stared at her bitterly through the rear view mirror for reasons, unknown.

His unkempt eyebrows were thick and hid his deep set darkened eyes. Freckles and moles spotted his sun-tanned face and his brown hair was sparse on his head.

Remembering something, she looked down at her phone and punched in a set of numbers. The phone rang for what seemed like eternity before leading her to voicemail.

Sighing, she moved to her contacts and called the contact at the very top.

"Hello?"

"Hey Amelia, I emailed Richard and told him I couldn't come in on Monday... but he hasn't confirmed that he's received the message."

Music sounded from the other side and Leda struggled to focus on Amelia's too soft voice.

"Did you try calling?"

"Yeah. It went to voicemail."

"Call him on his personal phone."

Silence pervaded for a second before leaving once again.

"I don't have the number."

"Oh...right. I guess I can text Rick's personal cell for you and confirm."

"That would be great. Thanks Amelia."

"Yeah of course! Look I need to go but I'll let you know when he replies."

The call ended before she had the chance to reply. The brunette pushed the phone into her back pocket before leaning her head against the fogged up windows of the car.

She pulled her bag tightly against herself, crushing the contents within. Abruptly, she reached into her bag, clawing at the empty spaces in it. She pulled out a single sunflower from the depths and smiled when she saw its healthy state.

Her body swayed to the right as the driver made a sharp left turn into a mostly, empty parking lot. The quiet rolling of the wheels became fainter and fainter as the car came to a stop by the curb in front of the entrance. Leda looked up.

"We're here miss."

"Oh okay, thank you."

Leda took out a handful of money and gave it to the driver, who stared appreciatively at the green bills. She got out of the car and stared at the view before her as the cab sped away, the wheels screeching loudly on the cracked pavement.