Adventure--part II

Home seemed to be on the way for our "brave heroine". She, along with her family and a bunch of people bound for Loshan, China, have just entered a plane after waiting in vain for the one they were supposed to be on to get fixed. After at least three hours delay, she is finally on her way home...or is she?

Part II--"Take Care of your Kids!"

I was singing "The Wells Fargo Wagon" from "The Music Man" as we entered the shuttle. I sat down in the seat 14C next to a couple whom I didn't know when we entered the aircraft. I glanced over the safety manual. I've read those since I was eight years old and I have practically memorized them. I watched the safety demonstration with a little interest, then as the plane took off, felt my headache coming back.

I flipped through the China Eastern magazine, looking at the pictures--the words were in Chinese. There was even a small article about Loshan! I can see why. If I may say so, it is the best of both worlds. It is not exactly tropical, but not exactly alpine. I have experienced both on vacation.

Pretty soon, they turned the TV on. The flight had been rather rough, and we were just experiencing turbulence, which always makes me nervous. I imagined we were decreasing altitude, and for a minute, I thought the masks were coming down! Imagine my relief when I discovered it was a TV. We began watching fashion shows. It might be my imagination, but I seemed to recognize the tallest, skinniest, small-headed model from the flight to Beijing! It is indeed possible, I think.

Soon, the TV went back up and I felt a definite decrease in altitude (I can feel these things). We were told we were descending to Loshan, and to fasten our seatbelts, put up our traytables, and put up our seats. Quickly, I and the couple beside me complied with the commands. I elt my head and decided it would be nice to be home.

The next minute, I felt like it would be nice to be on the ground, safe and sound--in Timbuctoo if that was the need!

The plane experienced a bit of turbulence. I'm used to that. It happens all the time. I saw with excitement hills that looked vaguely familiar. I saw a city and tried to decide if it was Loshan. The man next to me said something about Yun "Beehive", which is about an hour and a half from Loshan by car. Oh, well. I was coming home!

Wait a moment, I thought with a touch of horror and a lot of bewilderment, isn't this too fast? Daddy says I need to trust people more, but this was beyond that. There was only one I could trust at this point, and when that happens it's really frightening. It must have been scarier for the rest on board. The couple next to me clasped hands as we dipped, rose a bit again, then started descending faster and faster, bouncing about. The intercom crackled on. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are experiencing turbulence. Please remain seated and take care of your kids!" The man next to me didn't have any kids, at least not right with him. Instead, he grabbed a barf bag. His wife or girlfriend giggled nervously.

I gripped the edge of my armrest in panic. More than anything, I wanted the danger to disappear or the end (if indeed that was what would happen to us) to come quickly. Skimming the edge of mountains in a plane full of shrieking passengers is not my idea of a good time. Shrieking and nervous giggles added to the confusion. No longer were the mountains invitingly green and familiar. Now they were evilly close, evilly rocky. I must admit, I was hoping one petty hope. I hoped that if the guy had to use the barf bag, he would not barf all over me or his girlfriend or himself. I was actually hoping he wouldn't barf. I was also thinking, "Barf bag! I'll be happy if I ever barf again!"

Slowly, we rose and turned. I wondered what came next. Soon the intercom crackled on. All I caught was "Kunming Gi chan" and "Loshan Gi chan". Also, I heard the communal shrieks turn to. "Oooohhhhhh!" Then the announcement was made in English. "We're going back to Kunming".

The couple on my left fell asleep on each other, still clutching each other's hands and the barf bag.