Minds in Mines

Chapter 6: Welcome

The car started running down the apron and then in a couple of minutes, it stopped near a huge helicopter on a helipad. The noise of the rotor was so loud that none of them could understand what one talked about. They just followed the signs given by the ramp agents where to put their luggage and went inside the chopper.

There were about twenty seats in the chopper with a two-two seating configuration. All of the back seats were filled with passengers, leaving only two rows of empty seats at the front. The seat jackets on the first row clearly had 'flight attendant' and 'able-bodied person' written on them. Shotty confidently sat on the able-bodied person seat, so, AB signalled Ray to go to the second row. He let her sit next to the window while he took the aisle seat. On their seats, there were ear muffs that they gladly wore.

As soon as their team settled down in their seats with ear muffs and seat belts on, the flight attendant came onboard. He checked the passengers, closed the door, and informed the captain that they were ready for the takeoff. Even though AB had flown in a helicopter before, it was a small one that could carry only three passengers onboard. This helicopter felt different. It almost felt like they were flying in a plane instead of in a helicopter if not for the vertical takeoff.

After ten minutes of flying in the blue sky, the greenness of the extensive forest on the mountainous terrain came into view. Ray took out her phone to record it. She also poked AB's arm and pointed out the window to make him aware of the beautiful view. He leaned forward to be able to see the earthly paradise through the small opening and smiled widely and could not take his eyes off the sight.

The bright weather allowed them to see more details of the scenery with the naked eye. Peeking from the lush green forest like little children playing hide and seek were shiny white lines of multiple waterfalls. Sometimes they could see these waterfalls, at other times, they were hidden by the trees. Since the helicopter was flying above the clouds, the blue sky, white clouds, and green mountain ridges sort of merged into one heavenly scenery out of an impressionism painting.

It all felt too soon, though, since less than ten minutes later, they could see two orderly towns in a valley. The two nearby towns were surrounded by green mountain ridges; one was lower than the other. A couple of minutes later, the helicopter landed on the helipad above the higher town.

Sitting at the front rows did have its advantage. They were the first few people who were allowed to get out of the helicopter and go to the heliport about a hundred metres from the helipad.

The cold weather immediately hit as they stepped down from the helicopter. The air was thin at such a height to make them have to adjust their breathing. It was the breathtaking view that made Ray have more difficulty to breath, though. Seeing the view from the small window of the helicopter was like watching a film with a 480p resolution. Seeing it there on the helipad without any barriers was like watching it in an 8K resolution. Everything was multiple folds clearer, better, and more magnificent. Ray quickly took out her phone again and motioned to AB that she wanted to make a video, to which he nodded but did not stop to wait for her.

So, while other passengers were stepping down the chopper, Ray recorded her surroundings. It was not the peak of Mount Jayawijaya but it felt like she was already on top of the world because of the steep valley surrounding the heliport. Ray checked her watch for the altitude, and it showed over seven thousand feet above sea level. Even though she was used to flying at thirty thousand feet, being in an open space at such height with glorious mountain ridges around certainly gave a different sensation.

When she was satisfied recording, Ray caught up with the team who had been waiting with other passengers for their luggage inside the heliport.

"...is good this morning so we could take the chopper. Otherwise, whether we're saving time or not, we have to take the bus all the way from the lowland, which will take around three hours to reach Tembagapura," Mr Nahuway said.