It was irrational. Meg knew it was. Silly really. Millions of people do this every day. For business…and pleasure. Though she took no pleasure in the thought of boarding a 200 foot tube of steel and launching through the atmosphere…without a net. She had managed to avoid air travel for most of her adult life. Trains, buses and automobiles were perfectly adequate forms of transportation. Until now.
Her best friend had the audacity to plan a destination wedding, with the added insult of asking Meg to be Maid of Honor. (I would enter an expletive here beginning with “B” and ending with “tch”, with an exclamation point! but our challenge host Ronovan has asked us to keep it PG.) At any rate, Meg was not happy with her friend!
She had packed all the essentials for the long flight in her carry-on. Dramamine, chewing gum, a good book of fiction and a book of easy sudoku puzzles, Dramamine, one of those travel neck pillows, ear plugs, an iPod loaded with relaxing music, a sleep mask, Dramamine, twizzlers and an extra pair of underwear (just in case).
Checking in went smoothly. She opted for a window seat (for the lean against the wall feature…not the view), strapped herself in, closed her eyes and tried to breathe as sweat beads popped from the pores on her brow and upper lip.
“You can do this, Meg…” She told herself. A few seconds later the plane was ascending to its cruising altitude. Chewing gum nervously, ears popping, Meg exhaled a sigh of relief. She had even managed to dose off a bit.
Suddenly, the seatbelt sign flashed, alarms dinging, and the captain made a rare announcement from the cockpit. “Ladies and gentleman, I am asking that everyone remain seated with seat belts securely fastened. This includes the flight crew. We’re heading into a storm and some heavy turbulence.
The plane dropped what felt like several hundred feet. Lurched up, tossed to the right, then tilted to the left. Meg clutched the armrests, white-knuckled, for the next hour.
Mercifully, they made it through the storm and even managed to land on time. Meg’s friend was waiting for her at the gate, with wedding planning on her mind. There was so much to do!
And the only thing on Meg’s mind? How in the world would she get back home!
kat ~ 27 November 2015
Challenge #3 from RonovanWrites! This week with a photo prompt. Thanks Ronovan for hosting. If you would like to read more stories or participate click HERE.
