“Charles! How long has it been, five years? Funny running into you here, at Heathrow airport,” grinned his old friend, Mark. He noticed that even after so long, the grip on his handshake was as firm as ever.
“Hilarious, Mark. I've missed your old japes and raw wit,” said Charles, humorously. “Where are you headed?”
“Berlin. Are you flying me?” said Mark, sitting across him in the airport cafe.
“Unfortunately not, I'm flying to Moscow today.”
“Thank goodness, now I can rest knowing I'm in better hands.”
“Don't worry, I'll let your family know about your select choice of last words.” They both laughed, and Charles found an appropriate window to introduce his co-pilot. “This is Peter Waltz, my trustee side-kick.”
Peter, a meek young man, who was deliberately enjoying his coffee up until that point, almost choked at his words. “S-sidekick?!”
Mark laughed heartily. “Worry not, young man. One day you'll have a chance to prove yourself and take the wheel.”
Peter looked at Mark, debating whether to be incredulous or amused. “I'm a certified pilot for a couple of years now!”
“We're just pulling your leg, Petey.” Said Charles. “Come on, finish your coffee, we have a flight to catch.”
“So do I, actually. But I'll keep in touch, yeah?” Charles nodded and shook Mark’s hand again.
Charles was always more of a tea person, but he couldn't help but be enchanted by the intoxicating smell of coffee. It reminded him of when he was younger, his mother was an avid coffee drinker, but he could never seem to acquire the taste for it. His infatuation with the scent of freshly ground coffee beans was the only thing he had taken from his childhood into adolescence and then adulthood. It became almost a ritual to relax at a cafe before taking a flight.
Peter motioned them to leave. Charles could always appreciate the long walk it took to reach their destination. His passengers had a destination so far away, but his was always the same. The walk just prepared him for the thrill he would soon experience. He went through the gates with Peter and they sat in their designated seats. They were starting up the plane when he heard the familiar sound of a clutter of soft thuds that indicated the passengers were filing into the plane. He smiled to himself. As much as he loved flying, there was something else he loved more, and that was to provide his passengers a safe and pleasant journey. It was a principle he never compromised on. He could remember all the times there was turbulence, or a shaky landing, where both his parents used to clutch either of his hands as they closed their eyes in panic. He personally loved the feeling of the sudden change in pressure, the uncertainty within a mechanical womb of security, but he told himself he would learn to fly in a way that was comfortable for anyone flying, so they never had to worry about a hasty take off, or a dodgy landing.
The flight attendants had started their announcements and he knew it was time to start the plane. They drove to the runway, and then Charles exchanged a look of trust and consent with Peter. Peter was still quite young, he thought, but was definitely better at flying than he was at that age. His skills fascinated him in a way that he always felt the urge to egg him on to achieve greater things. Charles knew he was at a standstill as far as his career went, but he was satisfied with where he was. His contentment came from his position in life, and there was little the aforementioned apprentice could do to take that away from him.
They started up the engines at full throttle, exchanging the status on various parts of the plane that would confuse the regular onlooker. Then they started moving at a high velocity. He had about 30 seconds after they started moving to take off. The thirty seconds of sudden pressure against was an immediate adrenaline rush for him. He was born to do this. The best part was yet to come. Charles took the plane in the air. There was mild turbulence, the clouds in the winter did not tend to be forgiving. He felt the plane shake, and he steered to avoid it as much as possible. All he could remember was his parents gripping on to his hands, and soon they were above the clouds.
“Are you ready for the one eighty?” Asked Peter. It was rhetorical of course, whether he was ready or not, it was necessary. They weren't at the highest altitude they needed to be at yet, but they would get to that soon enough.
Currently, he was gently tilting the plane to take the one eighty degree turn. The afternoon sun curved into view and greeted them. Charles had made this turn so many times, yet he couldn't help but be mesmerised by the view below. The vast city spread out below them as they circled an invisible point in the middle of the sky. His veins could feel the change in pressure and the rush of looking at the gorgeous landscape, how everything looked so small from so far up. It was at moments like these that Charles knew that he would be doing this for the rest of his life. His cheeks flushed as he straightened the plane, grateful to whatever being had put him on the earth and made him lucky enough to experience such a scintillating moment in his lifetime.
“You alright, Charlie? You looked terrified.”
“Quite the opposite actually,” laughed Charles. He paused for a moment. “Tell me, why did you choose flying?”
“Well actually I wanted to join the military-”
Charles froze at the word. He couldn't place why he couldn't concentrate on what Peter was saying, but something about what he said made him rather uncomfortable. He excused himself to go to the bathroom, still unable to hear anything Peter was telling him. He wanted to splash his face with water, but he found the faucet was not working. He stared at it for a while, before shrugging it off and informing one of the flight attendants.
Before he knew it, they had to land.
“Good afternoon everyone, this is your captain, Charles, speaking. We've started our descent into Moscow, and will reach our destination in another half hour. The weather is great up here at about thirty six thousand feet in the air, and we're going at about eight hundred kilometres per hour. You're in great hands today, and we can guarantee you a safe and secure journey. Thank you for flying with us and have a great day.”
After Charles had made his announcement, he tilted to plane upwards slightly as he gently lowered the plane. This way, the passengers wouldn't even feel the suddenness of dropping in the air. Slowly, but surely, he could see the new landscape below, having passed the fog. The airport was in sight and he continued carefully lowering the plane.
“Ready for impact,” said Peter, smiling. Up until that moment, Charles was mesmerised in his work, but something about what Peter said brought him out of his bubble.
“Charles, land goddammit,” said Peter, rolling his eyes.
“Right, right,” said Charles, completely distracted, but determined to do a job well done.
The impact of the tiny wheels hitting the ground was barely distinguishable because of how smooth it was. It was time for the brakes. The plane came to a graceful halt. He was so content with how things had turned out. He'd brought about a hundred passengers on another safe and pleasant flight.
He grinned and looked to his left. Peter wasn't there. He did not hear the pitter patter of people leaving the plane. He did not hear the murmur of the flight attendants. He tried to take off his seatbelt but couldn't. He struggled, and struggled, finally giving up.
He woke up in a fighter jet that was on fire. It took him a moment to figure out what was happening. Fighter jet… seat belt… blood… fire… oh they bloody blew off my wing, didn't they! He concluded that he must have fallen unconscious as he crash landed. It must have been about five minutes till he woke up. Tears streamed down his eyes as he realised his dream was something from a lifetime ago, something he could barely remember now, yet he had experienced a memory that was sensuously loud and graphically detailed. His brain had granted him one last moment of bliss before he would die, whether it was from the plane exploding from the flames, or blood loss from being eviscerated by debris from the shattered plane.