takeoff

it was a damp march morning in spokane. rain caressed my hair and clothing when i walked across the street into the terminal. the time change had fucked me up this morning, i could barely use enough effort to pull my boots off when going through security. but the airport was not as bustling as i had anticipated, so it was quite nice to sit in a terminal that was quiet even just for a moment. there were small moments of interest in people-watching and listening to the faint call of individual names on coffee orders at the Starbucks down the hallway.

a small shiver chilled my bones. i mentally scolded myself for not wearing a sweatshirt this time around, thinking i had officially adapted to the pacific northwest cold. obviously not.

•••

the lights shut off in the plane, leaving my tired eyes adjusting contently to the subtle similarities in the darkness of the morning outside the rounded window, and the darkness of the cabin lined only with dim fluorescent lights at each seat, overhead.

adjusting my headrest, i propped my head up on its right side to count each colorful bulb on the runway as the plane rounded the corner of the runway; red…red…yellow…blue…blue. i caught a glimpse of it, the vast tarmac extending well into the darkness. inviting the adventure it knows we all crave.

the plane lurched forward seamlessly, pushing me back into the worn cushions of the seat and i watched the water droplets scattered along the window instantly begin streaking backwards, prickled with the dull-yellow lighting of the airport beyond. as the plane accelerated, so did the droplets, starting in waves and becoming supersonic streaks with no intent of slowing down. along with the flashing of the runway lights behind them i almost felt that i was riding a DeLorean into the future.

the piano crescendos in my earbuds just as the plane lifts, titling backwards and showing off the true expanse of the runway and it’s blue and yellow bulbs, before immediately disappearing into the clouds. another grey-ish darkness lit up by the rhythmic flashing of the plane’s running lights and yet again i felt as though i was flying through a celestial moment rather than a commercial one. every so often the array of clouds would cease, and sprinkles of rain, falling like snow would soar by the window against the darkness, on their way to kiss the earth.

and through the piano in my ears i can hear the captain calling out the remaining time of the flight and the current weather, thanking us for joining him on this flight. i take a moment to look out the window, seeing we have surpassed the inside of the clouds and now fly above them — a dim-white cotton blanket awaiting our descent to catch us in its folds. i turn back slightly and see the sunrise is also upon the world, chasing us like we are forever chasing time. i feel the clouds are awaiting warmth too, just like me.

these things that many find annoying and yet i am trying to find the beauty in each passing moment, regardless of the trivial events dotted in between the main storyline. the water droplets on the window, the child laughing loudly in the seat behind me, the horizon breaking free of the darkness and harnessing an orange glow, the clouds breaking apart to tease a glimpse of a small, glittering town below, barely awaking in awaiting the new day. it is moments like these i witness where i find that i am incredibly human. what good is it to live each day in pessimism? why not relish in finding an optimistic sense of life, where in the bits of darkness awakens even the smallest glow? i believe we often move so fast we forget the world around us, we forget what it’s like to sit back and revive ourselves in what the world has given us.

yet, here on the fastest mode of keeping time, i remember the world.