A/N: Trigger warning, Airplane Disasters (spoilery yes, but just in case~)
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She gestured deeper inside the room. To the kitchen counter with chairs and space made available for visitors or perhaps roommates. There are a number of items in here that I don’t think ever belonged to the apartnt I once visited.
> Space up here is limited. It only makes sense. <
"Sit. Please."
I did as she asked, after she pulled the seat out for . However, she didn’t join like I thought. Instead, she moved to a shelf and seed to grab sothing.
Seed to weigh whether she wanted to bring it over or not.
Even when she brought her phone over, its screen showing it turning on just now, her hand hovered over it. Like she wanted to protect it and like she didn’t want to touch it all at once.
"I’ve been trying to decide ever since I heard you returned. Whether I wanted you to hear this."
A voice so quiet and sad. I didn’t know what to say back. I didn’t know if it was alright to reach out and grip her hand like I had her niece’s that evening.
I could only squeeze tighter on my son, hoping I’m not disturbing his rest, and say a na with a throat that felt constricted by a snake that didn’t want to believe I had the right to breathe the syllables.
"Jessica."
Her hand twitched, fingernails gripping the device and scraping the white granite countertop. A slow, shuddering intake of breath before she nodded once at .
"I... I didn’t know. Until just a few hours ago. That she was gone."
"Martha told that, too. The word around here now is you can see our nas listed in sothing ga-like. Like what popped up that night for all of us on this floor weeks ago."
The room grew so quiet, hearing only the sounds of others on the floor thanks to my enhanced hearing. Until she manipulates the device under her hand, unlocking it with a passkey and staring at the picture on the ho screen.
"Putting myself through it again is hard, but letting soone else hear this is harder."
She seems hollow when she says this. My back straightens, my political training kicks in. And words spew out as that very poise slowly fails . At least behind the eyelids.
"Anise. This is incredibly selfish of to ask, considering I left the city under false pretenses. Considering I’ve kept secrets, told lies, and only showed up *now* because of an imnsity of guilt that feels like it will crush if I am unable to get you to lift it."
I don’t slump and my shoulders remain stiff. Yet, one of my hands has to reach up and wipe my palm over my eyes before it has gathered enough tears to spill.
"Can you tell what happened?"
Instead of responding she held the phone out to . On her voicemail app, she hit play, the speakerphone button, and then paused it right after I heard the young woman’s voice say her na.
"I’ve listened to this... probably a dozen tis. It’s long. Would you like a glass of water, first?"
Shaking my head no, she nods and starts it over. Letting the artificially cheerful voice take over the apartnt once more.
"Anise... Auntie, it’s ! I just wanted to call soone and let them know that, heh, well we seem to be having so engine trouble because of the sudden storm? The captain was saying sothing about fuel maybe gelling up from the cold..."
A loud, almost gunshot like crack ca over the phone that made my heart jump to my throat. Clearly it did the sa to her from the tone of her voice.
"Shit! Jeez. Th- the window across from us just... it just cracked? Can’t see out of it now."
A long pause let hear what the device picked up of people talking, crying. That airplane ding-dong sound going wild as a chanical drone began. Her cheer didn’t even try to return as she explained more of her situation.
"I guess it’s really, really cold out there right now. The engines stopped and he’s- the captain’s trying to keep it gliding, take it to an ergency landing... but soone... next to just said that the hydraulic fluid is probably stiffening and going to even leak past the gaskets at this temperature."
Jessica’s voice dropped and although I can’t be sure, it sounds like she might be covering her mouth over the microphone.
"-88C... the flight attendant scread it and locked herself in the bathroom. What is even happening? Is it... you know, that thing I saw the other day and called you about? That said the ’Apocalypse Has Comnced’?"
The dim-faced woman listening with stood and got both of us water anyway as the relative silence returned. It’s only been a couple of minutes, but the tir on the screen says... that this goes on for more than thirteen.
I pause the voicemail to collect myself and ask a question after taking a sip of what she offered.
"Why... what was she on a plane for after seeing that?"
"She was outside of Vossden when... when people started to be inford of shelter locations for the winter. Visiting Colorado for an intensive three week intern program she’d been saving up for. She was... flying back Christmas Day to be here for New Year’s."
Hovering her hand over the phone, I could tell she wanted to get this over with. That she wanted to get through hearing her niece like this ’one last ti’.
"I imagine most people on the plane were on it for the holidays. The storm just ca on too fast. Hers wasn’t the only one in the air. They all supposedly tried to divert, but there was nowhere to land. There was snowstorm everywhere."
My hand trembled when it reached out to settle on top of hers. She didn’t look grateful for the contact. Didn’t really look at at all.
Just didn’t move for a few seconds then pressed play while pulling her hand away slowly.
"Uhm. Did you know the plane required the engines to work in order to heat the cabin? I an, it makes sense, but I never thought about it. I..."
A sucked in breath. A choked sob. Whimper.
All over the recording from Jessica.
Neither of us made much sound at all.
But hearts breaking rarely made an audible one.
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