“What do you think, would you like to go on a trip and take a plane?”

“Really? Where? That would be so awesome,” I shouted excitedly. We have always been hard for money so something like this took me by surprise. I never thought we would have the opportunity to do something like this.

“Well, I’m not too sure where yet, but it will be tomorrow morning. Make sure you pack some stuff into your backpack so that we can leave right away.”

I started packing immediately. I made sure to have some extra clothes, some toys, my SNES, and my Gameboy Advance SP. There is no way I could leave without my games. The plane ride was bound to be boring. Also, I’m not too sure how I would feel being on a plane for the first time. Having my Gameboy was sure to make the traveling part of the trip much better.

My mom entered the room and said, “Make sure to get some sleep, we will be leaving around 6 a.m.” I grabbed my bags, put them along the wall near the door, and snuck the TV on before going to bed. I’m not supposed to, but Family Guy is always on at the exact same time I go to bed. I don’t actively watch it but instead listen to it while trying to sleep. Having noise in the background makes it much easier for me. I made sure to try extra hard to sleep tonight, though. It didn’t take long, honestly. I guess I wanted time to pass so that we could go on the trip sooner.

“Tyler, time to wake up. We are going to leave in twenty minutes. I ran the bath for you so make sure to get in there quick.”

I woke up right away, excited for the day. I had a bath, made sure I had everything I needed, and put my Gameboy and my Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga game in my pocket. I put my backpack on and we made our way out of the apartment. When we got down there was a taxi waiting for us. We couldn’t afford a car so taking the taxi was usually our main way of getting around.

We got to the airport and made our way in. Everything seemed so big. I had never been into an airport, so this was quite exciting for me. There weren’t many people in the airport, so we didn’t have to wait too long to talk to the lady at the front desk. The lady asked, “Where will you be going today?”

My mom didn’t tell me where we were going yet so I was excited to know where, but instead she said, “For Lauri and Tyler.”

“Ah, there you are. Alright then,” she said while reaching for something. “This is for you, Tyler.”

The lady reached over the counter, handed over a lanyard with a laminated card attached to it. I wasn’t sure what it was for — it wasn’t even explained.  Another lady started walking towards us from the tunnel to our right, stopped in front of me and said, “Hi Tyler! I’m going to show you the way to the plane while your mother gets everything all sorted out.”

I turned to look at mom and she said, “It’s okay, I’ll be right behind you.” I was scared, but the lady guiding me kept talking to me to help make me feel more comfortable. The tunnel was long, seemingly endless. There was little lighting and it kept getting darker until after the halfway point. The lady guided me to my seat — the seat right beside the window — and told me, “Your mom will be here shortly. Just make sure to put your seatbelt on until the sign says otherwise, okay?”

I nodded my head and stayed in my seat. I felt frightened. I sat patiently waiting for mom, but an older man sat down beside me on my left. I said, “That’s my mom’s seat.”

He replied, “Sorry son, it says right here that this is my seat,” as he leaned down to show me his ticket.

What is going on? Where is mom? That was all that filled my head along with loneliness. The plane started its engines and over the PA I heard, “Good morning, passengers. Today we are heading to Edmonton with a stop in Winnipeg along the way. Please remain seated until the sign shows you that it is okay to remove it. Have a nice flight and thank you for choosing Air Canada.”

The roaring of the plane continued to get louder while the vibrations shook the entirety of my body. When the plane lifted its wheels from the ground I felt weak and gripped tightly onto the arms of chair. When we reached the point in the sky where the plane was lying straight out I felt like the strangling stopped and I could breathe again. I sat there, looking at the clouds and the world beneath us. It all seemed so small. I felt tired from the early morning and all the emotions I was feeling. It seemed like a good opportunity to get some rest.

I woke a couple hours later, just as we were leaving Winnipeg. I had to endure leaving the ground again, but it wasn’t as bad as the first time. I pulled out my Gameboy and played some Mario. Over the next couple of hours, I kept hearing a voice that sounded like my mother’s calling out to me. All I heard was my name. I kept turning around and poking my head above the seat to see where mom was. She wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I started crying and the old man beside me asked, “What’s wrong, son?”

“I don’t know where my mom is or where I am going.”

“I’m not sure what is going on, but we will be landing shortly. Hang on, bud. How old are you?”

“I’m eight,” I replied. He looked sad but gave me a smile.

The plane landed and people started getting up. The old man patted me on the head and said, “Good luck. I hope you feel better.”

The same lady led me off the plane and guided me out of the airport in Edmonton. She pointed and said, “There they are.”

I walked toward the people who she pointed at and the man said, “Hey, buddy. I’m your dad.”

Tyler Connolly

Tyler Connolly is a second year student in the Professional Writing program at Algonquin College. He is passionate about fantastical stories of any form. A lot of his time is spent thinking about how little time he has. He is also quite fond of owls and foxes.