The Void Between Hearts ~~ongoing~~

52| Learning to Fly >> Boma

The Void between Flight. . .
You have reached the point where everything your heart touches blooms.
Where a constant symphony hums in your mind, and you feel your soul come alive to dance.
Hand in hand, heart beating in sync, you are ready to see the world through his eyes, and to feel its rhythm through her body.
So I will say, after the runway of attraction, sparks and resistance, take your first flight and shoot!
~◇~◇~

IT WAS NOTHING UNUSUAL TODAY, except that last night I didn't sleep well, and secondly we got to the airport too early.

I packed yesterday. With Chinny's help I ended up putting everything in two suitcases. By everything I mean a lot of casual Safari-like clothes and trainers. Also dresses and heels for in case Ivan had planned some 'romantic dinners' because according to Chinny, 'that is so Ivan.'

In the process of going through the rules with Mom who will be off to Paris by the weekend, I kept telling myself throughout the evening that, 'I got this'. Turned out I got nothing.

I woke up at a few minutes past 1am, not because of Insomnia or the crisis—the new drugs have sorted that—this was pure unfiltered anxiety. So without waking Chinny, I strolled downstairs to the kitchen where I made Golden Morn and watched YouTube videos on child abduction and plane crashes.

Then finally, I fell asleep at a few minutes past 4am, only to wake up to Chinny screaming, 'It's today!" and that was by 5am, so I only got an hour of sleep.

Our flight to Nairobi was scheduled for 10 a.m. and we arrived at the Port Harcourt International Airport by 7 a.m. of course we paid the price for being early birds and had to sit at the international terminal for almost three hours, exchanging what I believe were excited and anxious smiles.

The plane arrived by 9:50 a.m. and we boarded. My seat was 7B but Ivan didn't want me sitting between him and the strange man wearing a fake bright smile, so he gave up his 7A window seat and I was glad to oblige but was soon disappointed after the world disappeared under the cloud.

We've been on air for four hours now, the plane took off at 10:10 a.m. after the take off announcements but we're still an hour and thirty minutes away from landing.

I raise my head from his shoulder to look out the window. It's very un-fascinating, the plain pale blue sky stretches into forever, while nestling the white wings of the airplane.

"Do you find it disappointing?" Ivan asks.

"I do." I say, putting my head back on his shoulder.

He nods slowly. "There should be fantastic clouds shaped in amazing forms, not just a plain blue nothing."

I sight an air hostess as she walks towards us, her onyx-black skin glowing against the rich burgundy of her uniform. Her hair is pulled back, showing off her face which shines like a polished stone. With the way she swings her hips, each stride with intent. I'm less disappointed by the sky.

"She's gorgeous," Ivan says.

"Breathtakingly gorgeous you mean?"

"I'm going to say Hi."

"Don't."

"Excuse me," Ivan says when she crosses our row. She turns around. I turn my face down.

"How may I help you?" she asks kindly.

"Can we get two cups of water, please?" Ivan asks.

"Sure." She smiles.

I raise my head. "She's nice too."

"You would fit perfectly as an air hostess." Ivan says. I look at him. Then remember the one rule he has, the one about not speaking of death or dying.

The air hostess walks back with two disposable cups of water. We take them and say thank you.

"I think a perfect smile is a criteria for being an air hostess." I drink up.

"Smile let me see," Ivan says and I laugh instead. The humour was more in the way he said it, than in what he said. "There," he smiles. "That's the most perfect smile I've ever seen."

Heat flows in through all my veins to my cheeks. "What happens after we touchdown in Nairobi?" I ask.

"We take another flight from there to Maasai Mara and from the Mara airport, we take a reserved cab to the hotel."

"What hotel?" I ask.

"Fairmont Mara Safari Club. It had a great review and I'm sure you'll love it."

"I trust you," I smile, then look up at his own face, he smiles too. I lean up and drop a small kiss on his cheek before squeezing his knee.