Journey - Episode 2

 

Tess woke up drenched in sweat. The nightmares were back again. It hadn't happened in so long she'd thought she was finally rid of them. Hugging her knees to her chest, she rocked back and forth as she slowly took cognisance of her environment. It was raining again. She liked the sound of the rain. It took her back to a time when it was all okay. Slowly she let her mind wander back in time.
It was their ninth birthday,  she and Tasha . Waking up slowly to the sound of rain in May she could barely contain her excitement. Mom and Dad would have an awesome surprise planned, maybe a party, some gifts or maybe just an outing together. They rarely got to go out together because Dad was always on the road. Sometimes he was never there because of work  but he never missed their birthday though. She hated the military because it took him away from home all the time. He would be home this evening. She knew it and she could hardly wait. Briefly glancing at Tasha who was still sound asleep she dashed downstairs where she knew her mom would be sitting with the newspaper having her morning cup of tea. 
As she bounced quickly down the stairs, Priscilla Johnson smiled to herself at the thought of her young,  energetic daughter. Careful Tess or you'll end up falling one day

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/journey

. Good morning mom,  Tess said with a wide grin. How'd you know it was me, Tess asked as she walked around the dinning table to give her mother a peck on the cheek. Ruffling her head, she simply said,  I'm your mother, I know you. Now go on upstairs, wake that sleepy head you have for a sister and both of you get ready for school. It's 6.30 and that means the bus will be here in forty five minutes. Up you go.  Yes ma'am she said as she took the stairs two at a time. Priscilla smiled to herself at the surprise she and Fortune had for their daughters today.  He would be home today.  Oh she'd missed him. Humming Richard Marx's Right here waiting she went about her normal daily activities. 
It was 12.20, almost time for take off. It had been almost a month since he had seen his wife or kids. Knowing in a few hours he would be home with them filled him with joy. Priscilla would have the party all set up by the time he would be home. Just in time to change before the school bus dropped the kids off.  He would have loved to have another child,  hopefully a boy this time. He had talked about having another child with Priscilla but they'd never really done anything about it.  It was time he said to himself rousing from his musings as he felt the slight vibration that the plane was about to take off. 
Two hours into the flight Fortune checked his Hublot watch,  a gift from Priscilla as the plane began to descend . It was almost 2pm. He would be home soon. Looking out the window, it was raining heavily but then he thought to himself, it was always raining in Port Harcourt.
So many others were also on that flight thinking of home,  the families and the colleagues they had to get to. Unknown to them the pilot was facing a dilemma inside the cockpit. Despite an extremely uneventful flight, the weather had suddenly turned and the skies were unclear. The runway also wasn't lit and he knew it would be wet and slippery. He couldn't see the ground, couldn't make out the runway so he called for a go-around. He decided to land the plane despite being unable to see the runway, an extremely terrible decision he realized as the plane slammed into a patch of grass between the runway and the taxiway. The impact rendered most of the passengers and the crew unconscious but the storm hadn't ended. Still speeding through the patch of grass, a part of the plane hit a concrete culvert and it burst into flames.
Outside, Kevin was waiting for his boss when he heard a loud bang.  Suddenly, the was a thick cloud of smoke covering the sky. As he got out of the car.  He had a very bad feeling.
Priscilla hung the last if the balloons with the rest of the decorations. At almost 3pm the kids would be back home and Fortune wasn't home yet.  Neither he nor Kevin had called her.  That was strange. Worriedly, she moved around the house restraightening things that were already perfectly positioned. She heard the ringer for her phone and dashed upstairs. Finally they'd called.  Getting upstairs, it was her sister-in-law calling. The first thing she heard was Priscilla have you seen the news. No, she said. Turn on the TV now.  She rushed to the living room and with fumbling hands she tried to turn on the TV. Switching to the local news channels she went pale as she read the news ticker.  The images of the burning plane barely registered in her mind. All she heard Flight 1145 crashed.  No survivors. The words kept replaying in her head as she passed out.