The Memory of Us by Dani Atkins EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author:Dani Atkins
- Language: English
- Genre: Sibling Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
The drone of the plane was soporific. I hadn’t expected to find sleep, yet I’d
somehow managed to slip several layers beneath its surface when a
panicked cry jerked me awake. There are several things in life you never
want to hear: a fearful scream on a commercial flight is one of them, and
your phone waking you up in the dead of night is another. I’d experienced
both in the last four hours.
As I fumbled with the button to return my seat to its upright position, I
noticed I wasn’t the only passenger to have been disturbed by the cry.
Several seats had their overhead lamps switched on, spotlighting their
occupants like actors on darkened stages. It took longer than it should for
me to realise that while I was still looking around to see who had cried out,
everyone else was looking at me. If further proof was needed, a member of
the cabin crew was striding purposefully down the aisle towards me. The
747 was shadowy enough to hide my blush, but I could still feel it scorching
my cheeks.
The flight attendant spoke in a hushed voice, not wanting to disturb my
fellow passengers, although her thoughtfulness was probably redundant
after my noisy outburst.
‘Is everything alright, ma’am?’ she asked gently.
I nodded, caught off-guard by the kindness in her voice. At this point, I’d
have coped better with anger or irritation. Compassion could very easily
unravel me.
‘I’m sorry. I must have been having a bad dream. I didn’t mean to wake
everyone.’
Her smile came readily. ‘That’s okay. No one sleeps well on a red-eye
anyway. You’d be surprised how many passengers have nightmares when
they’re flying.’
I smiled wanly, because my nightmare was still very much with me, even
after screaming myself awake.
‘Can I get you something to drink, or eat?’ I shook my head, declining
the offer of food as I’d done several hours earlier, shortly after take-off. My
body clock was still on New York time and unaccustomed to eating a meal
with no identity in the middle of the night.
‘Maybe I’ll go and freshen up,’ I said, glancing up and noting with relief
that the nearest WC was currently unoccupied.
I mumbled an embarrassed apology to the passengers in the surrounding
rows, many of whom were still looking at me curiously, perhaps waiting for
my next diverting outburst. There would be none, I was sure of that. Sleep
would elude me now for the rest of the night until our plane touched down
at Heathrow.
After sliding the lock in place, I leant back heavily on the bifold toilet
door. The closet was as small as a sarcophagus and several hours into the
flight was now borderline unpleasant. I pulled a handful of paper towels
from the dispenser and ran them under the cold water tap before pressing
them to my heated face. No one looks good under lighting that harsh, but
the overhead fluorescent strip was particularly unkind to my pale skin.
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