Happy Accidents

#1

Sometime in October, on my last flight to Nairobi, Kenya, I felt oddly energetic or rather stable despite my lack of sleep the night before. My backpack had gained a hefty amount of weight from the sheer amount of books and snacks that, I picked up during the short span of my last transit. I was just barely squeezing through as I  bumped into people, struggling to make my way to my seat. After that brief struggle, I managed to place my bag under the seat in front of me. Exhaustion hit me immediately as my neck grew sore and my calves cramped simultaneously. "bathroom" I thought. “I need to freshen up and try to stretch”. After splashing my face with some water and spending a 

handful of minutes contemplating the fact that I'm actually moving, I got back out and made my way back to my seat. As I arrived at my seat, to my surprise, my bag wasn’t squashed beneath the chair I placed it under. My brain was rather mentally drained and confused, so I sat in my seat and looked around to find a free flight attendant. They were, in fact, busy preparing us passengers for our long flight, reminding us to buckle our seatbelts and all. Though I bared some queries, I decided it was best to wait till take off. A thick blanket wrapped around me as my tiredness persisted. But before I succumbed to the exhaustion, the horrifying thought that I forgot to do brushed my mind.

It was a dreamless slumber as if I'd simply blinked. I awoke confused, I had lost track of time and didn't know if it had been hours or minutes. Nonetheless with my mind cleared and my body less sore, The fear set in. ''Where. Is. My. Bag?" jolting upright in my seat as I frantically searched the plane for an available flight attendant. “I know I brought it with me- Where is it!?” and as if to answer my question, the flight attendants gathered by a small cubby of space adjacent to the bathroom. I stood up and couldn’t resist the urge to lift up a clenched fist as my head lolled to one side in a much-needed stretch. I instinctively reached down to my left pocket for my phone, pressing the power button I began to shuffle my way out of my seat and towards the herded flight attendants. 2:30 pm read the pixels on my phone, “but what time zone?” before I could open my phone to see, I bumped into a flight attendant. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry- I wasn’t looking” I rushed to say

“It’s ok, you look a little tired” replied the flight attendant with a light chuckle

“Bruh for real?-I literally just took nap,” I replied while trying to straighten my self up

“The flight has only travelled around, 30 minutes-ish.” The flight attendant said while she moved her hands

 as if to emphasize.

“Ah right, When I first got on the flight I had placed my bags down next to my seat. Um, I forgot the number but it was next to a window- and the left side of the plane, like coming in from the door, and I went to the bathroom but then when I went back to my seat I couldn’t find it- but you were all busy and I was so tired I decided it would be best to wait until you were free.” I blurted as the fear I was trying to mask started to bubble up.

“Well, first of all, you can always ask us for help- it’s our job- and secondly don’t worry will I’ll help you look for it.”

A wave of relief poured over me, the cap flying off the bottle as I saw my beautiful bag, all over packed and suffering. I remember mumbling a “thank you” as I ran to check that everything was there and the flight attendant, who earlier told me their name was Jenifer, smiled then asked if there was anything missing.

“No there isn’t- Thank you so much, I can’t believe I was stupid enough to walk the wrong way back”

“Don’t worry this is quite a large plane, it’s natural not to understand where you're going”

“Yeah, and I’m not the smartest” I said as I raised my head, a glint of light had caught my attention.

“Thank you” I said again

“You’re welcome, have great flight”

“You too, have a great day” 

I knew This moment will soon be a distant memory, it will become just another filler of my life. Comforting was the thought that some of my mistakes will not spiral into a mass of regret. A shimmer of light flashed through my peripheral, the sun was rising, its glow glistening through the tiny crack of my window. Slowly lifting the blind, the light blossomed and casted a halo around the books and coffee miscellaneous scattered on the minuscule seat tables, I closed my eyes. Taking a slow breath in I put on headphones, amping the volume to max. Head pressed to the window feeling the warmth, I pressed play and opened my eyes.