Chapter 1

“Ladies and gentlemen as we start our descent ensure your seat backs and tray tables are in a full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front or in the over head cabins” The flight attendant said as the plane prepared for landing.

Arlene Goodman who was one of the passengers on the Swift-lance 8818 air craft quickly checked herself to be sure she was ready for the descent of the plane.

Few moments later the passenger address system went off again with an announcement from the pilot.

“Flight attendants prepare for landing please, and cabin crew, please take your seats for landing.

Another announcement was made prior to that of the pilot.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have been cleared to land at the airport. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened. Flight attendants please pass around the cabin for final compliance check and pick up any glasses or cups. Thank you.” The attendant said with his foghorn voice which swirled through the passenger address system.

Arlene always made sure her seat was by the window; her favourite part of being in a plane was the landing process. She found it fascinating how the thickness of the clouds reduced as the plane got closer to the earth crust, in fact she loved everything about flights, from the classy waiters known as flight attendants, to the interior of the plane, and how organized it was. Unlike an automobile where they were no attendants and they didn’t go high up in the skies, they just moved on boring land, no one wants to see that, she thought.

Moments later a loud rumble was heard and that indicated the plane was ready to land because the landing gear was been lowered. Shortly afterwards the plane landed and left the active runway taxing towards the gate.

“Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Southingham airport. Local time is 3:45 pm and the temperature is 10°C. For your safety and comfort please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the captain turns off the FASTEN SEAT BELT sign. This will indicate that we have parked at the gate and it is safe for you to move about. You may use your cellular phones if you wish,”

The old lady beside Arlene who had been her flight partner finally spoke for the first time, after all attempts to get her speak throughout the flight failed. She muttered something about finally getting to see her daughter while she took out her cell phone to show Arlene a picture. It was obvious from her accent that she was African, and her daughter probably lived in the states. What got Arlene confused was why she chose to speak at that moment.

“Don’t be confused my child, where I’m from it is believed that we are governed by unseen beings and if I had expressed my joy earlier in the plane, something bad may have happened. But my God won’t allow it, that is why I closed my mouth throughout and prayed to him,”

Arlene looked at the old lady in a confused manner and forced a smile up her lips pretending to understand what she was saying. Although she was half-caste she had never been to Africa, but she knew she was from Niagua, a country in Africa. The old lady slid her phone into her hand bag and prepared to get off the plane like everyone else with a smile plastered on her face, which Arlene found weird.

Moments later, the air stairs were down and people started leaving the plane with the aid of the flight attendants. Arlene took her tiny hand bag which barely had anything in it, and then she made her way to the stair. She walked down the stair joyfully as she spotted a pair of familiar grey eyes in between the crowd waiting beside the plane. Her mother searched for her through the crowd while she watched in amusement, she rushed down immediately, pushing through the crowds and to her mother who she hadn’t seen in a while.

Barb Goodman, who had been searching for her daughter saw her approaching with open hands trying to initiate a hug. She opened her hands immediately and pulled her daughter into a warm embrace, Arlene pulled away a bit, and her mum patted her fluttering hair to the side and tucked them at the back of her ear. Barb took her daughters handbag and swung it on her shoulder while they walked towards the car.

Once they got to the car, they hit the road. Arlene tuned the music player on, and she sang to Passengers let her go with her mum, with the both of them screaming at the top of their voice till their tummies hurt. Their house was about an hour drive, so they still had a long way to go.

“Wait! Turn the volume up a bit, that’s backstreet boys” her mum said in an excited tone.

Arlene turned the volume up to the loudest and they kept up with their mini karaoke which was pretty much loud, because people on the road started to look at them. But then none of them cared, to Arlene her mum was a vibe and not like the regular southingham mothers who were boring and lame. These were the moments she lived for, there was never a dull moment with her mum even though they had little cat fights, but it was normal with females.

“Do you think dad would be back from work by now?” Arlene asked her mum who was still caught up in the blues of the music playing.

Barb didn’t respond to the question and Arlene thought the music was probably too high, so she turned down the volume a bit and repeated the question; still no answer came from her mum. She noticed the speed of the car increased a bit, but she was still focused on getting her mum talk. Suddenly she looked and saw a man trying to cross the road and their car was moving very fast.

“Mum hit the brakes” she screamed, but Barb didn’t respond.

They got closer and closer to the man and she noticed her mum wouldn’t budge, she forcefully put her legs at the compartment where the brakes were and stepped on it but then it was too late, their car collided with the man before she could do something. But the impact wasn’t as much as it would have been if it was moving as fast as it was before. Arlene tried to come down from the car to help the man but she couldn’t, because the doors were jammed, and her mum wasn’t saying a thing or trying to help. She just placed her hands firmly on the steering and showed no emotions towards what had just happened.

She took a look at the rear view mirror to check how the man was pulling up, and she saw a similar face, it wasn’t just anybody, it was her father. She screamed immediately and her mother matched the accelerator, and the car sped off, this time the music had stopped, the road was clear; there were no cars except theirs. Arlene couldn’t comprehend what was happening, her mum just ran over her father and she behaved like nothing happened.

“Why are you doing this?” Arlene screamed with tears, at her mum. Who focused on the road with her leg steady on the accelerator.

Something isn't right Arlene Said to herself. She realised screaming and shouting at Barb wouldn’t change a thing. She behaved like a programmed robot who had malfunctioned. There were no signs of her being human anymore, like who would hit her husband and speed off without a care?

She decided to take the wheel by trying to push her mum’s hands away from the steering, their father and husband was dying, he needed help and there she was running away from something she did. Barbs hand wouldn’t bulge; it became as strong and heavy as osmium.

“Mum stop please” she said again in tears still trying to pull her mums hand off the steering and lift her legs from the throttle.

Arlene was caught up in getting her mum to stop without realizing they were close to the edge of a cliff, when she looked up it was too late to do anything , the car already slid off the cliff and was on the air waiting to crash into the sea. Arlene screamed in tears as she watched her mum that did nothing but hold on to the steering, and like they say in movies, her life flashed before her eye. She never expected her life to end this way, everything was happening so fast and she couldn’t comprehend. The thought of her father lying helplessly on the road made her cry the more, she didn’t know why her mother chose to end their lineage which had just begun. If they were involved in a fight, this was certainly not the best way, and to think she looked so happy at the airport.

Arlene was still deep in her thoughts when the car crashed into the sea and they began sinking, her mother closed her eyes signifying she had embraced death, while Arlene struggled to break free from the car. She wasn’t giving up yet without a fight; she tugged, kicked and pulled effortlessly till she had no strength left.

Suddenly she felt herself losing consciousness, and her mother was already dead so there was no one to call. She released her breath which she had been holding in to prevent the water from going up through her nose. The water rushed in freely and filled her body, and just as she was about to give up the ghost, her dormitory alarm went off.