Start of Something New

The tension was strong, and it was felt everywhere in the room. The young couple sat side by side, anxiously switching position, taking a final look around at the ones they loved the most. The woman was beautiful even when she was worried. She nervously ran her fingertips smoothly through her short blond ponytail while her eyes, two shimmering pools of clear blue water, darted across to the worried faces of her parents, and her husband. Her husband sat tall and handsome, but to one who knew him well, it was obvious that something was not as it should be.
"Mama! Look! Do you see it?" an excited voice shrieked. For a brief moment the couple averted their gazes to their youngest daughter. She was a sweetheart, why they were doing this, they really didn't know anymore. "Mama?" the high pitched voice screeched yet again. The tiny girl wasn't used to not getting all of the attention.
Jane cleared her voice, "Yes Emma, we're going to go in one of those soon too! See how it has wings, just like a bird." She plastered a smile on her face. Emma shuffled over to her parents, her curly pigtails bobbing up and down with each step that she took. The huge eyes that were filled with excitement looked up at her father,"Daddy, what's it called?" it came out as a barely audible whisper. "Airplane." his hoarse voice replied. He looked away. She couldn't see his tears.
For a second Emma stared at her father with curiosity, but it being too much for her two year old mind to handle, she shrugged it off and raced to her older sister to the other side of the waiting area in E5 located inside the Aledale Aeroport.
"Flight for America ready to board. Flight to America ready to board," a crackling voice boomed through the loud speakers. With a sigh Henry took his wife's hand and grinned at her pale face. "Just a little longer. We have to be patient," he gently stated. And she knew. Jane knew that it didn't only refer to the flight, but to their lives as well. She felt a sense of calmness overcome her as they eased their backpacks onto their shoulders and went to say their good-byes.
By the pink tinge on their parents' despairing faces, Jane and Henry could tell that they were holding back tears, which only brought heavier lumps into their throats. Jane's mother bit her lip as a tear rolled down her cheek. "We-we'll miss y-you," Henry's grandfather stuttered. Then the tears came. Heavy tears that blurred their vision. Quiet sobs that rocked their bodies. A terrifying pain in each of their hearts, worse than anything they had felt so far. For they knew very well that it would be a long time before they saw each other again. The grown-ups exchanged looks, long gazes, filled with love, compassion, and understanding. It was hard to finally pull apart from the warm hugs, a sign of comfort, of home.
Through all of this Emma and her five year old sister Jessica stared. They didn't have a clue of what was happening. Emma was hopping from one foot to the other, but Jessica only watched. Jesse felt the tension grow, and she didn't like to see her parents and grandparents cry. In fact, she had never seen them cry, and the poor girl was surprised to see that they cried, just like children. "B-I-N-G-O, Bingo was his namo, B.." a soft voice trickled into Jessica's deep thoughts. Her finger to her lips, a hushed, "shhhhh...something 'portant is happening! Something bad," escaped Emma's older sister.
Suddenly remembering the two girls, the adults smiled in chorus. "Our little girls-don't forget to call." "We love you!". Emma and Jesse were bombarded with these statements from their grandparents.
"Final call for flight E5 America. Please head to the check in." The static filled voice once again brought the family back to reality. Janey took Jesse's small hand into hers as Henry pulled Emma into his arms with a little grunt. Beginning with small steps, which gradually became longer strides, the family of four headed off towards their new lives.
Jesse's eyes widened and she continually kept twisting her neck back to look at her grandmas' and grandpas' waving figures. She waved back and tilted her head as one of her thick braids fell to one side, thinking, "Why are they so sad? Where are we?" Jesse felt different. She couldn't explain because she didn't understand what it was, but she sensed that something was going to change, and was never going to be the same again. A quick tug from her mother reminded Jessica to keep on walking, but hurrying along after her parents didn't stop the strange thoughts from ricocheting in her head, and it didn't nudge the image of her grandparents' faces just a few minutes ago. It had seemed like centuries to the tired child, but it was only a couple of short minutes, only the begininng of what was going to be a very long journey.