Terminal 251

Candice sat motionless, stiffened by exhaustion as her heart rate followed cadence of the sound of the machines. She takes a deep breath, allowing the antiseptics lingering in the air to fill her lungs, while her bony fingers brushed a strand of hair from her face. His her fingertips found their way into her face as she rubbed her eyes, stained ruby, as they begged to give them some shade.

She turned to look out the window, the only one in the room 251, desperate for a distraction. Dark clouds ate up all traces of sunlight, making the world below move slow. As she watched the individual raindrops race down the glass , bumping against each other. The water current reminded the stream of tears rolled down her cheeks. All she saw was darkness. All she felt was dark.

Then she saw something … A bright flash of movement. Below her, a hummingbird was dancing in the air, flying from flower to flower. As much as she tried, she could not move her focus away from the creature. It moved with such grace to this end. Despite the rain belting down on it, the bird kept flying. So free. So determined. So strong. Candice has seen these traits before. It was faith. It is Faith.

Her trembling fingers traced her lips, recounting each time she let the rain stop her hummingbird. How many times she tells her «no»? How many times did she say «you can’t»? How many times had her daughter tried to tell her? And how many times did she silence the most important message of all?

«Mommy …» A little voice broke the silence. Candice jumped up and ran to the side of the bed. There lied faith. There lied Faith. She studied her large and surrounded eyes of a gloomy siege of black lashes, at the bottom shone the light spot burning like a star pupil in a dark night sky. Her face, pale and transparent glowed with positivity.

«Mom, why are you crying?» Faith asked as she wiped the tears that soaked her mother’s face. Candice smiled at his daughter ‘s, reassuring that everything was fine.

“What do you want to do today? We can do anything!”

“Anything?”

“Yes, my love. Anything.” Faith smiled, and pondered her options.

“I want to fly…”

In no time, Candice and Faith left Terminal 251. Faith stretched her arms and legs, a feeling that she has not felt in a long time. She extended her arms to her side and let the wind rush through her shirt. As they gained speed, all their cares and concerns flew away back to baggage claim. Faith was no longer just a sick child, but free… A happy girl. And while the wind blowing in her hair and as the laughter of her daughter filled the lobby, Candice began to fly herself. All the time she had spent trying to save his daughter, was doing the opposite. All times she tried to save her health, she was diminishing it. But now, everything was better.

One day this plane is going to land, and one day this runway will stop. But for now , none of that matters… They are free, they are happy and are far from the terminal 251.