The wind tickled my cheeks as I marched towards the airshed, the pieces of cement crunching under my
feet. Seventy-four other trainers jogged along my side but my fear seemed to have occupied much of
the space around me.
I could feel my heart pump faster and the sudden release of adrenaline, spread through my veins,
thrilling my senses in the most unusual way. I struggled to keep my eyes focused on the track, careful
not to trip, and break an arm or a leg. The air seemed to be full of rigid tension, as if all seventy-five of us
were captured in an invisible cage; the cage of fear and odd hesitation.
Weeks of tiring practice and hours of memorizing the tall stack of books about gears, brakes and flying
techniques had drained out the most of me in the past months. But today, all my heard work was going
to pay off. If I did well. Atleast, well enough.
My eardrums hummed as we all settled down, opposite the runway, along with our respective chiefs.
My hands started to sweat as the chief announced the names one after the other. No, not names.
Numbers.
“One.” The chief declared and one by one everyone pushed themselves up, as their names were
proclaimed. My number was thirty-one but it didn’t matter then. All that mattered was the roar of
engines which made my blood cold, the sound of sirens which took my breath away.
“Thirty-one”. I got up on the instant. My muscles felt weak and acidic as I climbed the airjet and grabbed
the helmet from the Captain. I remember him wishing me good luck before the cover closed, separating
me from the rest of the world.
My feelings went numb as I rattled the engines to life and lifted the jet meters above the ground. No
emotions existed within me as I did what I was supposed to do; fly and then land effectively. The tyres
produced the sound of screeching and uneven rubbing as I brought the jet to land miraculously.
Suppressing my fear, was something entirely new to me. It energized me with renewed courage as the
Captain called my name among the twenty blessed souls selected for the AirForce.
