The Journal - A Short Story Collection

Imbalance

Screaming of the engines brought my attention to the window. Turbulence violently bounced everyone around, some losing their balance and stumbling over when they walked back to their seats. The night sky made it impossible to see what was occurring, but I continued to investigate. Lights from the wing flickered every so often, illuminating a pinch of the surrounding area. In those moments, I could see we were certainly inside clouds. Though, the turbulence didn't seem normal.

The pilots announced for everyone to fasten their seatbelts. At first I thought it was just routine, but then the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. People screamed in realization, frantically reaching for the masks and affixing them.

Nausea hit my stomach as butterflies fluttered around, producing havoc on my insides. All the nerves lit up like streetlights, flowing electricity throughout the body as swiftly as they could. Muscles tightened in some desperate hope that it'll be enough to protect me. But whatever my brain did to prepare, I knew it wouldn't be enough.

My life would be over in a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, depending at how quickly our decent was. Difficult to tell. I don't even have time to accept that as fact, it just is. As I sat there buckled down to my chair, holding onto the seat in front of me, and listening to the chaos that ensued around me, memories flushed into my head. Memories of events in my life, both an imbalance of both good and bad. Memories of my career and all its benefits it brought me. But most importantly, memories of my family, of my wife and daughter. They were home right now, safe and sound, waiting for me to knock on the door in about three hours from now.

My wife would make dinner soon. She said she'd make my favorite tonight, chili hot dogs. It was something that would always make me hungry on any given day, but today. Today my appetite was lost in some forgotten realm, unsure if it would ever come back. I don't know if I ever really appreciated my wife, and all she did for me. The dinners, the cleaning, and taking care of my daughter when I wasn't there. On top of her own work. I don't know how she did it, but I suppose I never really thought about it before. Like she found the perfect balance between the two.

My daughter. How I wish to see you again. At least one more time. Before the inevitable. You would draw me those wonderful little pictures that I hung in my office, but regrettably never looked at. You always had such a beautiful, cheery smile that could light up the room. You got that from your mother. So creative in everything you did. And so smart. Yet, I wasn't there for you often. Always packing to go on my next trip. I'm so sorry.

Consumed by work, I found myself away from home for what would seem like most of the year. While I might've gained new opportunities, I was less and less at home. Career ruled my life and left the family part out of the equation of balance. The balance faltered, and I never realized it until now as I looked back at my life before it stopped abruptly.

Now the time came. I looked around at everyone else, all terrified and crying. Everyone holding onto the seats in front of them as they breathed into the oxygen masks that dangled above. In life, I wanted to sky dive, just to see how it was. This wasn't exactly how I envisioned it.

My thoughts lingered on my family to the final moments. Most of it became remorse. Everything I did was for them, but to do it I left them out of my life. Now I wouldn't be able to rectify it. My daughter, all the school plays I missed. All the stories you never got to tell me. My wife, all the time we used to spend together... gone. All those times you wanted to say something to me, but instead held your breath. I never listened. I just believed I was right.

All those memories we never made.

Unexpectedly jerked forward, smacking my head on the seat in front of me, I heard the shriek of metal bending and scraping on the ground. Screams of people around me echoed, but I disregarded them as I watched the ground slide under us at ridiculous speeds. My muscles remained tense, my mind whirling in circles. Then everything stopped.

And I woke up, sometime later, though I couldn't be sure how long. Blurry vision greeted me but settled over time. The first face I saw was my wife's. She smiled down at me, caressing my face and pulling strands of my hair away from my eyes. I tried to smile back up at her but it wasn't that painless of a task. My daughter came in a few minutes later. She looked saddened but pleased to see me awake.

She drew me a picture. Our family on a beach. A vacation we were supposed to take, but my work took precedence. I stared at that picture everyday. Later on she started sending more, and I looked at them all. Some of the family. Some of her dreams. But one in particular stuck with me the most. The picture of the park near our house. Specifically the teeter-totter she had her and I sit on. Looking at that one caused tears to streak down my face.

I discovered later that many didn't survive that crash. Only a handful, including myself. Why I was granted a second chance, I'll never know. Though it didn't come without scars. Crutches prevented me from going anywhere for a long while, but I was relieved to have them so that I could still walk with some amount of balance. It wasn't entirely bad. I learned to not question my blessings, but instead embrace them.

I quit my job, considering the fact I could no longer travel properly, and instead found something that didn't require me to be away from my family. A work from home job where I got to be around my wife and daughter all the time. My life struck a wall. My career died and now I'm trying something new to revive it. But I gained something I didn't have before. Balance.

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Thanks for reading! A small story to talk about a lesson of balance in life. Hope you enjoyed it!