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Flight


"Oh Maria, give me a hug! Momma is so proud of her little girl who is going to study Physics in Paris with a Nobel Laureate!"


Maria was sure half the people in the airport had heard the remark.


"Mother," she said with a small look of embarrassment. Miguel was standing at angle such that Momma couldn't see the sly smirk on his face.


"They say that you'll reach Europe in a few hours, thanks to the new High Speed Civilian Airplane."


"Yes, it travels at more than three times the speed of sound."






Maria looked out the window down at the clouds below. When there was a gap, she could see the waters of the atlantic ocean even farther below.

...


"Would you like something to drink?" the steward asked her, flashing his charming boyish smile.


"I would like apple juice, please."


She had brought a physics textbook to read on the plane.


Kinematics. Mass. Acceleration. Velocity. Force. Pulley. Specific Heat. Energy.


She saw the words but her mind was unfocused.


The attendant approached her, smiling. He handed her the glass.


She felt very thirsty, and she drank the whole thing.


"Walk with me," he smiled. She followed him down the aisle. He turned at the emergency exit over the wing and reached for the handle.


"It's alright," he said, opening the door. He stepped out onto the wing and then reached into the emptiness of the air, and then began climbing. She followed him, and reached out. Her hand grasped what seemed to be a glass cylinder, like a railing. Her foot made contact with what seemed to be a staircase, and she followed him to a higher point. She looked below at the vast space, the bright white, and the deep blue.


She looked for him and saw that he was much higher up, too far away for her to hear him yet it seemed she could see him ask "How far will you climb?"


"Mademoiselle. Mademoiselle. Here is your drink!" She awoke with a start.


"Thank you." She took the drink.




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