Welcome back to ‘Flash Friday’ where every week I share some of my original flash fiction.
Many thanks for bearing with me last week as I took a week off to recharge my ‘little grey cells’. After some much needed relaxation time, we’re back to normal again this week.
This week’s story was inspired by the writing prompt: ‘It was a long flight and she hoped the person next to her...’
I’m not much of a flyer. We don’t tend to go abroad for holidays, and in previous years I simply couldn’t afford it. But last year I ventured out of my comfort zone and visited one of my oldest friends who lives in Austria with her family. Just managing the travel on my own was an eye-opening adventure, and whilst I enjoyed my visit and derived much pleasure from experiencing a different culture and seeing new sights, I must admit I was relieved to return home. Aeroplanes are, to me, still a very novel and unusual form of travel.
I hope you enjoy reading this one, and please leave a ‘like’ or a comment below if you’d like to share your thoughts - I’d love to hear what you think.
Serena sighed as she collapsed into another upholstered airline seat. Boarding had been delayed for two hours, and she was relieved to finally be nearing take-off. It was going to be a long flight and she hoped the person next to her would be more pleasant than the starchy crone who had complained constantly during her earlier, connecting flight. She wasn’t used to air travel and couldn’t wait to get back and embrace her husband at the arrivals gate.
She glanced up at the myriad of bored faces filing past down the aisle, each searching for their respective seats and wrangling their hand-luggage into the awkward overhead lockers. Not long now and they’d be airborne, cruising above the clouds, and setting course for the island she called home. She twisted her seatbelt strap anxiously between her fingers and shuffled her feet back and forth on the rough, utilitarian carpet. Then, her seat fellow arrived.
Serena stared out of the window at the never-ending sea of concrete, determined to make it clear she wasn’t in a conversational mood, whilst the other person arranged their bags and finally sat down. Further down the aircraft she heard the dull thump as the doors were closed and saw the concertina boarding tunnels being detached and returned to the terminal. Her heart pounded a little faster and she fought to keep her breathing calm. This was it. For better or worse, they were all now stuck together for the next seven hours with no escape.
Sneaking a look from the corner of her eye at her companion, as the air stewards performed their usual safety routine, Serena was relieved to see a fairly ordinary-looking older man with a grey beard and sideburns. His tweed jacket was slightly crumpled and a spotty hanky was just visible in his breast pocket. He seemed harmless enough. She also spied a well-thumbed copy of Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ tucked into the elasticated mesh pocket on the back of the seat in front of him: one of her favourite books. That bodes well, she thought. Perhaps he would just read for most of the trip and she could try to catch up on her sleep.
“Good afternoon everyone, this is your Captain speaking.” A professional female voice sounded through the speakers, “We will shortly be preparing for take-off and ask that you observe all safety precautions advised by the onboard staff. We apologise for the late boarding and departure of this service, this is due to other late running services ahead of ours, but we do hope to make up at least some of the lost time en route. The weather forecast is clear and flight conditions are good, so you should enjoy a very pleasant flight with us today.”
When the announcement ended, the gent beamed widely.
“Attagirl!” he whispered.
Catching her curious glance, he proudly explained, “That’s my daughter, the captain. That’s my girl!”
His obvious delight was so wholesome and pure that Serena couldn’t help but smile back at him. As a nervous traveller, his words had done a lot to reassure her and she told him so - perhaps this flight wouldn’t be so bad after all.
If you’re not already subscribed, why not sign up?
All posts remain free and open access, as I’m passionate about my writing being accessible to all, so you can subscribe for free and get first access to all my posts.
A paid-for option also remains live for those of you who would like to support Read ~ Write ~ Dream financially, after all, writers have bills to pay too...
A huge thank you to everyone who has subscribed so far!
If you would like to support Read ~ Write ~ Dream with a one off donation without the commitment of a paid subscription, how about buying me a cup of tea?
And don’t forget to follow me on social media:
Join me and thousands of others around the world writing in community in ‘Writers’ Hour’ with The London Writers’ Salon: sign up here.