by Christina Munene
I love traveling, that’s a fact! On this day, our school planned an international trip to Paris. I was excited as this would be my first trip on a plane. My classmates and I even formed research groups on places to visit while on the trip. We devised a list of some incredible places, and shared it with the teacher responsible for the trip planning. Later that evening, I went home after school and shared the exciting news with my family. They were all very happy for me. The amount to be paid was a bit high, but there was enough time to plan for it. Days went by, and D-Day was here –it was time to jet off. I waved my family goodbye with excitement, and quickly left so as not to be late. We got to school, and my classmates were no less thrilled about this; it was the first visit to Paris for everyone.
We got to the JFK airport on time, and we could see the planes getting ready. We jokingly made several guesses on which one we’d be using, and we bet on it. Soon enough, it was our turn to board. Trust me, they didn’t need to call us twice. Every one of us walked proudly, holding our boarding passes. The airport had a good view as we walked across the jet bridge. In no time, everybody was seated with seat belts fastened, ready for take-off. A brief introduction from the captain and then we were airborne. The take-off was like nothing I had experienced before, and I was terrified. It was a seven to eight hour flight, and I wasn’t planning to waste a minute sleeping. But fatigue finally caught up, and I fell into a deep sleep.
“We are gonna crash!” I woke up to my friend’s voice, oxygen masks dropping on us, and an announcement from the flight attendant asking everyone to stay calm and fasten their safety belts. Honestly, remaining calm was not possible with a class of high school students. There were panicked screams from all over the plane. I saw a flash of light, and then there was total silence and darkness. When I regained consciousness, I noticed that everybody was okay. I walked out and realized we had crashed in the middle of nowhere, just a desert with nothing at all. Then something strange happened: I could see my classmates, but we couldn’t speak. I tried to tap one of them, but there was no contact or response. I came across a mirror and also couldn’t see any reflection. I had heard stories of how people become ghosts after death, and this was it.
“Christina! Christina! Hey! Christina!” I heard someone call my name, and I opened my eyes in shock. It was my mum waking me up for school. This was the most horrific dream ever; I knelt and prayed about it. Over breakfast, I narrated it to my family; to some extent, I was still shaken. I also got to share this with the class, which wasn’t amusing for them either. Trust me, I was all grown, but that first flight that I took was still a terrifying one for sure! I hope you enjoyed my story.
