AMACon3 30-Day Drabble Challenge

Flight

PROMPT #9: Maine, Alden, and their high school selves.

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Today it is a shokoy costume—a hideous, garish creation designed with hormonal femmes and lustful eyes in mind. He is uncomfortable, but the sudden rush of adrenaline that always surges through him just before a performance thankfully carries him through. Afterwards, he catches a glimpse of himself in a glass door and feels his cheeks start to glow and the tips of his ears burning with—no. He refuses to feel that way. There is no shame in doing whatever it takes to fulfill his mother's wishes—his integrity is intact, so his dignity will remain so too.

But that night, as he crawls into bed, exhausted, his face scrubbed clean of foundation, he thinks to himself, someday I will do something more worthwhile than this. I want more for myself than to keep doing these embarrassing song and dance numbers for peanuts, and competing in these small-time provincial pageants. Konting tiis lang, brad. Someday it will all be worth it.

His last thought just before he drifts off to sleep is, should I have pursued my dreams of becoming a pilot? Did I ever really want to fly planes, or did I just want to know what it would be like to soar—high above the clouds, weightless and carefree?

That night, he dreams that he is an eagle, weaving swiftly and gracefully through the air, the cold wind numbing his cheeks.

Years later, fresh off a Best Actor win and a multi-platinum album under his belt, he dons the pilot costume that Mama Ten hands over to him, and gets ready to shoot his scenes with Kuya Jose. As he smooths his hands over the front of his blazer, he catches his own eye in the dressing room mirror. Nervous, embarrassed, skinny Shokoy RJ from a few years ago seems to stare back at him, and he suddenly has to excuse himself. He practically flies into the bathroom, his chest constricting painfully as he locks the door and bursts into an avalanche of tears. Gratitude and relief wash over him, threaten to drown him.

It was worth it, so worth it. He is soaring now, and the flight feels even better and more magical than he ever imagined it would.