Supine 'til Aurora • Dan Howell

• Chapter 18 •

Shimmying out my seat, I pulled myself up and opened my overhead locker, pulling my suitcase out and slamming it down on the plane floor, drawing the attention of a few people around me.

Pulling the handle up with a small click, I dragged it out behind me, holding tightly on to my carryon, one of the flight attendants wishing me a pleasant evening on the way out.

Thankfully, the main terminal wasn't far from where we landed, and so I clacked along the pavement quickly, heading for the glass doors of the airport.

Helsinki was much colder than London, but the sky was so much clearer; that was definitely something I'd miss once I moved to England. Snow still laid along the streets, and the wind still blasted through the air.

Yanking my case up the ramp, I entered into the main entry way, thankful to be back in my own territory. Now I just had to get home.

Hastily, I wheeled my suitcase along the whitened floor, heading towards the main doorway leading to outside.
A shiver trickled down my spine as I exited, the cold biting and crisp.

As usual, it didn't take long to get a cab; they always hovered around the airport looking for people to ferry.

Thankfully, the driver didn't seem keen on having in depth conversations, which I was grateful for; seeing as I was exhausted.

The sights blared past us as we drove. The snow was much shallower than before I left, and the roads had been completely cleared; taking away the magical feel of winter. As we drove, the dream I had endured on the plane bounced back into my mind. Dreams of my early teenage years had been happening more frequently than I cared to admit.

They were hyper realistic; I felt everything I did then: the sadness, the rage, the paranoia.

There was the occasional dream that held more positivity; like the recurring stargazing one, however, that still came partnered with the stress of being found and the paranoia I felt at the time.

Soon, we arrived back at my apartment.

As the car stopped, I broke away from my thoughts, hopping out of the cab, hastily, and pulling my luggage out, thanking the driver before heading towards my building.

Quickly, I yanked my bags up to my apartment door, throwing myself inside and dumping everything in the hallway as I stumbled into the living room, my entire body releasing the tension I hadn't released had built up.

It was so amazing to be back in my apartment, and I couldn't believe I was going to have to move out.
Boiling the kettle, I pulled my gloves and coat off, chucking them on the armchair in the corner of the room as I always did, already feeling my joints beginning to defrost.

Once the kettle boiled, I made myself a cup of tea, and then pulled my laptop out my carryon bag, sitting down on the sofa in the living room and turning it on, placing the tea on the coffee table.

I had 12 days to find and apartment and make sure I had the means to move everything to it. It was going to cost a lot, but thankfully, I had been saving up for years, and I even had some money my mother had left me that my father didn't know about, and I was now willing to spend it. This was going to change everything, and hopefully I'd make the money back.

Unfortunately, I obviously had to quit my job, and that was going to be difficult. Addi had been a phenomenal support to me, and saying goodbye was going to be painful.

Warmth lapsing over my skin, I slid my phone out my jacket pocket, messaging everyone to let them know I'd made it home safely.

As I continued to navigate around the various options for apartments, my phone lit up again, a text message from Dan popping on to the screen.

Dan
7:43

good. im glad you're
back safe. x good luck
finding an apartment
by the way. 😂

Thanks. I'm gonna
need luck. I just
started looking and
I can already tell
this is going to be
super hard.

Id offer to help
you out but im
really terrible at
finding apartments.

phil found this one,
and the 2 before this.

It's okay. I wouldn't
want you to take up
yourtime with this
crap.

👦😂😂

ill be here cheering you on tho

_________

Sorry this one's really short guys! I wanted to make it longer but I literally ran out of things to write about. This one was really boring.