Gummy Bear Red by Kimberlee Cosham
October 10th 2008. That was an important day for me. One day etched into my mind for the rest of my life. It's funny...how just one day can make such a huge impact in your life. How your perceptions of the world can change.
An extra 40 minutes we had to wait! 40 minutes before we could begin to get on the plane! It was unbearable One second I was excited, thrilled that after a year of hard work and a lot of saving, I was going to be rewarded. The next I was nervous, worried about the flight. I'd never been on a plane, would it be alright? What if it crashed? What did I have to do? Then it was humorous, what was I so agitated for? Where the hosts and hostesses going to do that funny thing where they point at the emergency exits? Luckily I had a friend to help keep me calmer. She whispered soothing words to me. That was until she was stopped by two security guards. Apparently she looked suspicious. I doubted that. Her? Suspicious? No way!
Fortunately I was fine until we started moving. Why did I ever get on that plane? What urged me to do something so stupid? I was so nervous I even forgot the hard sweets I had brought to keep my ears from popping. So I was extremely thankful when I was given two. Just in time I placed the sweet in my mouth. Instantly I was thrown into the back of my chair as the plane shot forwards. I was told it was probably going at 200 miles per hour! Not really helpful for my nerves, but it was good to know. Then we were off the ground. I was still nervous but at least I wasn't crushed into my seat anymore. I thought I'd gotten used to it, that I was used to it already. I'd thought that it wasn't so bad. That precise moment was when there was turbulence. Of course I didn't know that. I thought it was something wrong with the plane. In a split second I'd thought of all sorts of possibilities. Engine failure, engine about to fail. It was a full five seconds before I was reassured it was common, and the horrible and nerve racking bumping movements were nothing to fear. I almost sighed in relief. It didn't take me long to find that if I watched a movie it didn't feel like I was thousands of feet above the safety of earth. Then I looked outside. Clouds as far as the eye could see, from the tiny plane window. It was like flying over a beautiful snow covered land. It looked safe enough to step on, though I already knew I'd end up falling. They seemed soft, even fluffy, like cotton wool. The tops were flat, giving it the appearance of a field. A field of cotton wool, pure white and soft. I liked that.
The sun had been setting for 3 or 4 hours now. It was strange, that no matter how long we flew for the position never seemed to change. Yet it was a spectacular sight. As the time passed different shades of red were painted in the sky. There was one red that had me transfixed. I couldn't seem to find the right way to describe it. Blood red? No, too bold, too.. .solid. It was sort of like when you put dye in water. I finally found the right words, the right description. Gummy bear red. Like when you hold it up to the light. Most of the passengers were asleep. It would have been absolutely silent. Making the moment even more perfect but I could hear the steady drone of the machines. It was comforting that it didn't change, but it was still loud. When I managed to tear my gaze from the sunset I glanced down, looking at more clouds. Something was wrong with them. They seemed so far away. Before I got too confused someone pointed out that it was ice. With the information in mind I was able to re-experience that feeling of awe I had merely minutes ago. I could appreciate the shine that the setting sun gave the long pale white ice, how long the ice was, and finally I could appreciate how the ice made the sea seem even more special.
Finally the sun set and darkness surrounded the plane. It had been a while since I looked out of the window. When I did at first I thought, nothing to see, but we were close to America. So I waited patiently.. .and I was rewarded. Below me was a city. The lights stretched far, curving in response to some invisible shore. They looked like the lights on a Christmas tree. As soon as they appeared they were gone but not long before more appeared. I constantly switched between looking at the illumination and the screen. I wanted to know the name of the places I was looking at.
Then I was flying over New York. It was larger than any of the other places I had seen. Of course now that we were there it meant that the second part I had been dreading was going to come. The plane started to go down and almost instantly my ears felt as if something had started to bash them repeatedly. A few seconds later and my head felt as if it was in a vice, the headache was unbearable. Then there was the bump as the wheels came into contact with the runway. Although I couldn't say the ride was fhn, it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. It was a relief to be on the ground though.
Stepping off the plane was the highlight thought. The smallest of things were significant to me. I was breathing American air. I stepped into an American building. That was another of my goals achieved.
