Foreign

•1• Departure

Bright.
Flashes of confusion and anxiousness that I'm all too familiar with flood into my overcrowded mind.

Only a little while longer.

You'll be there soon.

Thump.
The sound of my heartbeat evidently seems to resound through my skull at the same caliber of a hammer on a nail.

Ping.
An echo, almost. An actual noise to signal the boarding of the flight is one that surprisingly is laced with unrealistic tones.

For a moment, the internal noises disappear and the real picture comes into my vision.

"Boarding pass, please?" The pale blue color in his eyes are the first that wake me from my fog.

My hands find their way to my pocket and wrap around the small white paper, then hand it forwards.

The hands belonging to the blue eyed man motion for me to move forward onto the plane, and I let my feet follow.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
One. Two. Three.

The plane lifts off the ground, and for a second, I let my light brown eyes rest.

~

Ping.
Less of an echo, but still distant.
This time a tone of arrival.

My vision captures more of my surroundings and a certain wave of comfort washes over me. I'm not alone right now.
I'll be okay.

I clutch my small luggage tight to my side and make my way out quickly, then weave through the astoundingly large amount of people to reach the shuttles.

~

The latter portion of the day has my mind in an empty state, one I haven't experienced since before the accident. Thoughts seem to be solely focused on the way the wind felt comforting against my ear, the sound of a child's laugh in their mother's arms, and the smoothness of the radiating sun on the window.

"...Serafina?" A soft voice interrupts my thoughts, bringing the comforting wind to a temporary halt, but not so much a halt, rather, maybe...a newer feeling.

My eyes lift slowly and turn my heart's confusion and fear to relief with what comes into their vision.

"Nicolas." The name escapes from my lips as they curve up, and I rush towards him to collapse into his arms.

He laughs and squeezes me tight.

I've missed my cousin.

"I've missed you Fi." He says as we pull away, his words seemingly full of sympathy and relief. 

"Missed you too."

He smiles, a strand of his straight blonde hair falling over his eye. He blows upwards, pushing it to the side, smiling again. "The car's this way, my father's back at home waiting." I nod and follow him to the small light blue buggy, one that resembles the shade of my mother's favorite flowers, the same as my fathers eyes. A sharpness of grief fills my chest. Time stopped, for a moment.

"Fi?"

"Coming" I say, sliding into the seat as the door clicks behind me.

~