Music was always a way for me to escape the world. Over-ear headphones cupped her ears tightly beneath a shock of amber brown hair. She had dyed her hair brown, the crown of her hair was a golden blond. Her left hand cupped the side of her face the other was rested on her right foot that was upon the seat and facing her thigh. Her eyes fixed outside on the clouds outside of the window and beyond the metal wing of the airplane, or so it would seem. Her eyes were lifeless as if she wasn’t here and in a manner of speaking she wasn’t. Memories streamed through her head like a film reel, she had stopped trying to resist them, but to her, it was like watching an actual movie.
I don’t even hear the music anymore it just noise just static playing in the background of the movie. Amy sits in the plane seat thinking about the events that lead to her being in the airplane.
She remembers her parents fighting “You fucking ass” Amy’s mother shrieked, she looked like a ghost in the dark a thin line of bright yellow danced around her white dress and ebony skin as she moved nervously and angrily around the room. “Don’t talk to me like that” her father snapped back. Her parents were arguing in the living room illuminated by the crackling fireplace, her father flung his scotch glass into the fire, the embers erupted when the fire drank the splash of brandy, her father never liked scotch too much. Amy was just outside the room huddle at the foot of the staircase her face rested on her knees and her forearms wrapped around her shins and her glasses hung from her left hand as she listens to the argument.
“She didn’t do anything, Kim” her father seemed to calm down a bit his back was turned to Amy’s mother.
He didn’t face anything, in particular, he just didn’t want to face his wife not while she was saying those things. He sighed and shrunk he rested his hands on over the top of the fireplace while his black tie dangled from his neck under his white dress shirt in front of the fire.
“It doesn’t matter you could lose your job, w we could lose everything if we do it” she turned to look at her husband to see he was looking away from her. Amy’s mother must have sensed that he didn’t want to see her, she when to his side and extended a hand but pulled it back.
“Look at me, please… Se Jong?” but he couldn’t.
Back in the plane, tears streamed down Amy’s face like a leaking faucet, but she hadn’t even noticed. A flight attendant passes by to inform the passengers that they’d be landing soon. She didn’t see this, but the lady beside her noticed and nudged at her to alert her of what the attendant said.
“Hello, young lady” she then rests her hand on Amy’s shoulder. Amy snapped when she felt the hand on her. The lady attempts to tell her what the flight attendant said but saw her tears
“Sorry to bother you dear I …are you alright?”
“Hmm?” She was confused as to why the stranger asked that not wanting a conversation she quickly answered, “oh yes.”
“But your face…”
My face? She thought as she scanned her face with her hand, her hands became wet… no, her left hand was already wet she felt her around her eyes. Tears?
“Oh, this??? Don’t worry about it” she gave a smile to deter the lady from further asking questions
“It happens every time I fly. I think it’s jetlag…” Her lies made her laugh nervously. She didn’t know if jetlag did that and she wasn’t sure if the lady knew that either. “Ok well if you say you’re ok…” the lady turned to look ahead of her. Just then the lights at the head of the cabin lit up it said “FASTEN SEAT BELTS” and she did just that. She began things to herself again. She went through the airport without paying attention. She dragged two black suitcases behind her in both hands, two large bags slung over both her shoulders, a black duffle bag clung to her chest, and a black backpack with red embroidered threads at the seams was strapped to her back she strolled out to the front of the airport and pulled out her phone and looked at the picture her mother sent her. The captions said, “THEY’RE SUPPOSE TO MEET YOU HERE.” There was a pink arrow pointing under a palm tree. She squinted her eyes to look since she didn’t have her glasses, but it was no good, by the time she let out a sigh
“WHITE SUGAR”
a voice yelled out it the hairs on her body pricked and her face turned red with embarrassment and annoyance. Amy lifted her head to see her grandmother waving her stubby arms at her and what she assumed to be her cousins were holding up a small banner with her name on it welcoming her home. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.
