Crowned follows a character named Mara Clare who is a waitress in Chicago. She has never felt connected to anyone. Even her parents never seemed to love her. Therefore, her escape came through the pages of books. On her 25th birthday, she gets a cal...
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Mara remembers the first time she ever stepped foot on an airplane...
She was with both her parents and they were flying back to Brazil so her mother could go to her grandmother's funeral. Mara was only seven but she remembers the memory as if it were yesterday. It was all three of them sitting in small seats, so small, that they could barely move. It was all the way towards the back of the plane, next to the bathroom, and a smell of rotten garbage and peanuts wafted through their aisle. Both her parents complained about how they had no room to even move their hands or legs. She had opted for the window seat and she starred, memorized as the clouds flew alongside her. She had screamed during take off, afraid at how fast they were going, and both her parents shook their heads not wanting to comfort her. After they ascended into the air she felt better, she had closed the window, thinking this was her demise, but afterwards she had the courage to open it back up again.
As both her parents ordered drinks, probably because they didn't want to deal with each other, let alone her, she stared outside the window for what seemed like hours. She touched the window and remembers that it felt cold tingling her fingers. She remembers reading her book, bringing Peter Pan with her, it is one of her all time favorite fairy tales. She grabbed the book from underneath the seat in front of her and held it tightly. She traced the letters of the name with her thumb and turned back towards the window. She breathed on the window causing a dust of warm air to fog the glass. She used her finger to write Peter on the glass and silently said a little prayer. In her mind she thought, okay I'm here in the air, you can come save me now, take me away from this place. She tilted her head against the airplane seat and waited...waited for something that never happened.
Both her parents argued under their breaths amongst themselves. They didn't listen to her when she said she had to use the washroom, or when she awoke from a nightmare.
"You deal with her," they both said in unison.
She remembers watching the families in the aisle in front of her. How a girl, around her same age, laid his head on his mother's shoulder, while holding his father's hand. He looked so peaceful like nothing in the world could hurt him. She wondered what that felt like. As she cradled her book in her hands, she closed her eyes, hoping that one day she would find what that small boy had.
"Are you comfortable?" Alfie asks.
Mara cannot understand how he believes she wouldn't be. Never in her life has she ever rode first class on a plane. She's never seen this much room on an airplane and it's just the two of them in their own row. Both of them have televisions in front of them along with free wifi with food and beverages of their own choice. As Mara looks around she sees both a blanket and fluffy pillow stuffed along the side of her. It looks way more comfortable than her own pillow at home.
"Are you kidding, this is unbelievable."
"You my dear are easily impressed. I wanted you to only get a taste of what you'd be dealing with. Just wait until we get to Andorra, if you are going to be around royals you're going to have to think like a royal, be accustomed to what they like."
