PRISTINE

Chapter 1: Miles up high in the sky!

"Leia! Where have you kept our passports?" My dad yelled at me from one corner of the house. The house was a complete mess. All our things were scattered everywhere and we were running out of time.

Oh! Don't misunderstand me... We are not in the middle of a crisis. We are just a normal family trying to catch our flight. You might be wondering where we are taking this flight to, why we are leaving Thailand, and why we might never come back here.

Though I can't answer all of your questions, one thing that I know for sure is that we are going to Singapore. Well what about the other questions? let's hope we'll figure it out together as soon as possible. Because right now I am just as puzzled as you are!

I have stayed my entire life in Thailand. This has been the only place that gave me a sense of security and made me feel at home. Just a few months back, I lost my mom and it has been hard ever since for all of us. Now we are a family of three, my dad Parob Chen, my younger sister Olivia and me.

"Leia!!! Are you even listening to me? We have a plane to catch and no time to waste." I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard my dad's voice. I quickly got back to action and started packing. My sister was still fooling around with her toys. Well, what can I tell her? She is after all a nine-year old trying to navigate through her idiosyncrasies. It was time to leave for the airport and I grabbed on to my luggage and pulled Via towards me. "No more playing Via. We are running late! Let's keep Mr. Sniffles inside the bag and I will give him to you once we board the plane."

" Have you finished packing?" my dad asked. "Yeah! We're good to go" I replied. We picked up our bags and left to catch a taxi. It was 4 in the morning and trust me, finding a taxi at a reasonable price at this time of the day is a humongous task. Nonetheless, we got hold of a taxi and here we are on the way to the airport.

Via rested her head on my shoulders and fell asleep. I kept pondering about how my life will be in a new city, in fact a new country! I spent most of my time in Thailand helping my family and studying. I have never travelled anywhere in Thailand itself. Going to Singapore is a big deal for my entire family.

My dad is a factory worker and my mom was a homemaker. Even though my dad made less money, we lived a comfortable life in sub urban Thailand. However, things changed after my mom passed away due to chronic illness. I never expected such days to befall me.. Just last month my dad got promoted to the position of factory manager and got posted in Singapore.

After a few minutes we reached the airport. I didn't realize how quickly 2 hours had passed by. We went through the security checks and were waiting to board the plane. Today, I not only leave Thailand but also leave behind all my memories and my loving mother. It's going to be quite a task to leave all these loving memories behind and start my life afresh in Singapore.

"This is the final boarding call for passengers on flight 372A to Changi, Singapore. Please proceed to gate 3 immediately. The final checks are being completed and the captain will order for the doors of the aircraft to close in approximately five minutes time. I repeat. This is the final boarding call for passengers on flight 372A. Thank you."

We quickly boarded the plane and took our seats. The flight took off and I started a new chapter in my life.

Hi, I am Leia Thong Di, an 18 year old high school student and this is the story of my life.