Chapter 5: A Flight Full of Trauma

The air hostess soon instructed everyone to fasten their seatbelts.

Well...

Mine was already fastened.

Very securely.

In fact, I was already chewing gum like my life depended on it.

Honestly, the girl sitting next to me must've been traumatized.

I probably looked like someone had informed me that a dinosaur was waiting outside to eat me alive.

Okay Mira.

Normal.

Act normal.

You are eighteen years old.

After some time, I finally calmed down a little.

A little.

I had ordered a sandwich for the flight and somehow managed to eat it without having a mental breakdown.

Things were going surprisingly well.

Too well.

And whenever things go too well...

Life decides to humble you.

A while later, the pilot's voice echoed through the cabin.

"Passengers are advised to remain seated. We may experience severe turbulence ahead."

The moment I heard the word severe, my soul left my body.

Bas.

God save me.

I immediately started chanting random prayers in my head.

Hmmm...

Hmmm...

Oh my God.

At that point I think fear had genuinely affected my brain.

And no-I wasn't overreacting.

The turbulence was actually horrible.

The plane kept shaking.

People around me started shouting.

One aunty actually screamed.

A child started crying.

Some uncle grabbed his armrests like he was preparing for war.

And then I thought-

Wow.

I am actually handling this better than these people.

At least I wasn't screaming.

Achievement unlocked.

Eventually the turbulence became less intense and everyone calmed down.

Including me.

Or so I thought.

Then another problem arrived.

I needed to use the washroom.

Very badly.

Originally I had promised myself I'd never use an airplane washroom.

I don't know why.

It just seemed scary.

But now the situation was no longer under my control.

So I got up and marched towards the washroom like a soldier going into battle.

Thankfully everything went fine.

Until I tried opening the door.

It wouldn't open.

I tried again.

Nothing.

Again.

Nothing.

My panic returned instantly.

"Oh my God."

I started pushing.

Pulling.

Twisting.

Then I started banging on the door like an absolute illiterate person.

My hands literally became red.

The door still wouldn't open.

At this point I was convinced I'd spend the rest of my life trapped inside an airplane washroom.

Then I looked properly at the lock.

Applied a little pressure.

And-

Click.

The door opened.

Immediately.

...

Turns out it was never stuck.

I was just stupid.

As I stepped outside, every single person nearby was looking at me.

Including the air hostess.

She walked over.

"Ma'am, are you okay?"

I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

"Yes."

I nodded rapidly.

"Perfectly fine."

I was not perfectly fine.

I was embarrassed beyond recovery.

Anyways.

I somehow returned to my seat and pretended none of that had happened.

Just when I thought life had finished torturing me...

My worst nightmare arrived.

The ear pain.

Oh.

My.

God.

The irritating pressure started building inside my ears.

Then came the pain.

Then more pain.

Then even more pain.

I genuinely felt like my eardrums were going to explode.

I wanted to shout.

Bachao!

(Somebody save me!)

But obviously I couldn't.

So I suffered in silence.

I quickly took out another chewing gum.

No effect.

Wonderful.

Then suddenly I remembered Mom's advice.

"Beta, hot water maang lena."

(Ask for hot water.)

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I asked the air hostess for hot water.

Thankfully she brought it.

The situation improved a little.

Just a little.

The pain was still there though.

Then I noticed an uncle sitting a few rows behind me.

Fair-skinned.

Breathing heavily.

His face had gone completely red.

He stood up and sat back down again.

Maybe his ears were hurting too.

Which honestly made me feel better.

At least I wasn't the only victim.

Misery loves company.

A few minutes later the pilot spoke again.

"This is your captain speaking. We will be landing in Mumbai in approximately thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes.

Just thirty more minutes.

I looked out of the window.

Below me were endless clouds.

Beyond them was Mumbai.

Beyond Mumbai was IIT Bombay.

A completely new life.

And suddenly...

I wasn't scared anymore.

Well.

Maybe just a little.

But for the first time since boarding the plane, I was actually excited.

Alright IIT Bombay.

Here I come.

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