Chapter 3 ~ The Silver Tree

Chapter 3

Far Away From Home 

The sound of the alarm clock rang in Charity's ears as she smashed her hand on the off button. It was four a.m. a time which was earlier than she would even get up for school. The sun itself had not risen. Once the alarm was shut off, she rolled over, and was sound asleep again in a matter of moments. The horrible dream was already forgotten.

"I don't want to go to school today," she said sleepily as her mother tried to shake her awake.

"You aren't going to school, honey. You have to get up so you can be on time for your flight."

When she heard the word flight, she was suddenly forced back into reality and she crawled farther under the covers of her bed. Her eyes were all puffy from her tears the night before, and her head ached with the thought of being awake at such an early hour.

"Charity! You heard your father last night. So, you need to get over it and get out of bed. Breakfast is ready. I better see you dressed and ready to go in ten minutes, or I will send your father up here."

She groaned and tried to get out of bed. When she placed her foot on the floor, she accidently stepped on something sharp. Grumbling to herself she pulled her body off the floor. Something shiny caught her eye on the floor near the headboard. It was a small silver necklace she had never seen before. The thin silver chain held only one charm, a delicate silver leaf similar to an aspen. The slight indentations in the silver caught the light making the charm sparkle brilliantly. She picked it up and strung the chain around her neck without even questioning where it came from.

"Charity, lets go!" She heard her mother yell.

"Calm down! I'm up!"

Charity took a longer shower than she was planning. She was trying to wash away the anger to her parents, and her throbbing headache. Unfortunately the water was no help for either problem. She went back to her room making sure everything she needed was packed. She rolled the suitcases into the hallway, and slowly walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

"There you are. Cutting it a little close aren't we?" Her father said as he tapped his index finger against his watch.

She groaned in response, shooting him an evil look.

Breakfast was a silent meal where the only sound was the clanging of the silverware against the plates. Afterwards Charity sat on the couch as her parents loaded her bags into the car.

"Time to go," her mother said.

She put her sunglasses on, her headphones in, and climbed into the backseat of the car reluctantly not once looking at her mother and father. The silent treatment didn?t seem to have much affect on them, but she continued. She didn?t really feel like talking anyway.

The car went slowly down the street and out of the subdivision. She watched as the houses of her friends passed by, and she hoped they wouldn?t be mad at her. She didn?t have the chance to tell them she was going to be gone all summer.

The sun had finally begun to rise bathing the road in a cheery orange glow. It was going to be a beautiful day, but all Charity pictured was the rain cloud hanging above her head.

The long trip to the airport was lengthened by the silence in the car. Charity watched as happy families passed smiling and laughing with each other. She looked down at the floor as tears welled behind her dark sunglasses. She tried to hold them back. She didn?t want to give her parents the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

They parked their car in the lot closest to the airport. She slung her carry-on over her shoulders as they made their way to pick up her boarding pass. The woman at the desk was overly cheery as she pulled up her flight information. Her luggage was quickly tagged and placed on the belt moving swiftly away from her.

Charity grabbed her pass and made her way to security. It was a busy day and unfortunately her parents made sure she was two hours early for her flight. There was no way she was going to be able to miss it. She dragged her feet across the floor moving as slowly as possible.

The airport was a large building with hallways leading in many different directions. The sides were filled with little shops and restaurants to keep the busy traveler happy. There were places to buy souvenirs, books, and even luggage.

Why would they need to sell luggage? Hopefully, if you were at the airport your bags were already packed. Charity thought.

On every corner stood a coffee shop. The long lines were filled with sleepy travelers eagerly waiting for their caffeine fix.

Since she was underage, her parents were allowed to walk with her through security to her gate. She wished she could go on by herself. If it was possible, she might have a chance to escape. She could run away and spend the summer hiding out in one of her friends houses. She knew the chances of that happening were slim to none so she trudged on sulking the entire way.

The terminal was packed with travelers heading in all directions. There were men and women in their suits and ties running around like the world would end if they didn?t get to their planes on time. They pushed through the crowd with no regard for others. Most had cell phones attached to their ears, and when they spoke to the person on the other end it appeared as if like they were speaking to themselves.

It was the beginning of the summer vacation rush so there were many families walking up and down the aisles. Parents yelling at their screaming children, the giggling of teenage girls, and the sound of very impatient travelers echoed in the corridors.

Some were just going to visit family or friends in other states. Others were going on a fun-filled family vacation. Everyone looked happy to go. Charity looked at the smiling faces wishing she was one of them instead.

When they reached the terminal for international flights, the scenery was much different. There were no screaming children, or packs of giggling girls. It was relatively quiet. Many people looked travel weary already as if they had been waiting for hours.

They sat in silence outside gate forty-two waiting for the plane to arrive. After hours of silence her mother spoke finally.

"I am sorry you are so unhappy, Sweetie," she said. "Your father and I believe this is going to be a good experience for you."

Charity continued to look out the window at the planes coming and going.

"We don?t want you to leave thinking we are punishing you."

"Well, you are," she said simply. "I don't want to go and you are making me. I think that is the same as punishing."

"We are trying to make sure your summer vacation is more than reading books, and going to the pool. We want you to see and experience different things," her father said.

"I really wish you guys were going with me. It is weird visiting someone I don't know."

"We would have loved to go with you..."

"Then why aren't you!" Charity interrupted.

"Adult reasons you don't need to be concerned about. The only thing you need to know is we love you, and we think you will have a wonderful time."

"Sure, whatever you say," she said sarcastically.

The intercom rang out letting her know it was time for her to board. She slowly got up and looked at her parents. Her mother looked so sad. Charity was unsure if it was because she was leaving or if it was the attitude she had about going. In the end she thought it was a little bit of both.

"We hope you have a wonderful time," her father said.

"The three months will be over before you know it and you will be sad to see it end," her mother added.

"Bye. I guess I will see you soon."

"We love you, sweetie," her parents each gave her a big hug.

"I love you too," she said quietly and then turned to board the plane.

The plane smelled of canned air and cheap food. It was much larger than she thought it was going to be. Each side had two seats together, and the row in the middle had three. I was the biggest plane she had ever been on. That wasn't saying much since this was only the second time she had ever flown.

She walked down the aisle and found her seat in the back of the plane. Luckily she had a window seat. She placed her bag under the seat and waited for the plane to fill. She looked out the small window to watch the other planes take off and land. The flow outside was almost rhythmic. As one took off another would land getting people to where they wanted to go. The minutes seemed to slow as she sat on the large soon to be crowded plane. Outside the window people moved quickly around loading and unloading nearby.

When plane finally had all of its passengers the flight attendants started to explain all the safety procedures. Charity watched the woman standing in the aisle in front of her as she pointed to the emergency exit doors. Her mind drifted, and she missed most of what the woman said. She shrugged. Planes don't crash often. She probably didn't need to know anyway.

The plane had already started to taxi to the runaway as the flight attendants put on their little show. A man with orange cones stood behind the tail and directed the pilot in the right direction. They reached the runway and waited for their turn to take off. The plane gained speed as it moved faster and faster down the strip of concrete. Charity sat stiffly in her seat holding on white knuckled to her seatbelt to make sure it remained tight. The engines whirred loudly as the wheels lifted slowly from the ground.

She closed her eyes and began to breathe in and out slowly trying to calm her nerves. Her stomach became lodged in her chest as she tried to control the awful nausea. She took a deep breath in hoping the awful nauseating feeling would soon pass.

As the plane lifted, outside the tiny window showed the ground slowly slipping away. The view from above was almost unreal. The cars were the size of ants. The houses and buildings looked small enough for dolls to live in. The whole scene was more like a model than an actual city. Soon the houses and buildings were gone, and the plane was flying high above the plains. The fields made a patchwork design on the ground below. The land appeared to be a giant quilt of greens, yellows, and browns.

Charity opened her eyes when the plane was parallel to the ground. She looked out her small oval window admiring the beauty of the land around her. Patches of white fluffy clouds soon began to block her view until all that was visible was a sea of white. She watched the colorless world around her for a few moments before turning back to the interior of the plane.

The horrible nauseating feeling from the take-off was beginning to wear off as they reached the cruising altitude. She sat back in her seat and tried to relax. The interior of the plane was almost as entertaining as the white clouds outside. The seats were dark blue with a flower print down the middle. The sides and the ceiling were an off-white plastic which matched the tray tables attached to each of the seats. A small TV was built into the back of every headrest so the passengers could watch what they wanted. She flipped through the few free channels to find the flight information. Soon a digital picture of the plane was on the screen showing her where they were, how high they were flying, and estimated arrival time. She watched as the tiny image of the plane blipped in front of her moving farther and farther away from her home.

The passengers had remained still and mostly silent when they made their ascent. When the captain finally turned off the seat belt sign people started to move around the aisles. Charity pulled her bag out from underneath her seat and placed it on the empty beside her. She took out her IPOD from the front pocket flipped on a movie and quietly watched the tiny glowing screen. She remained undisturbed for thirty minutes before the flight attendants began their drink rounds.

"Can I get you anything, sweetie?" The flight attendant asked.

Charity pressed pause and looked up at the smiling woman's face. She really disliked when strangers called her sweetie, dear, hon, or anything like that, but she smiled kindly back.

"Water please," she said politely.

"Okay," the woman said reaching into the cart. "Here you go."

She passed a small bottle water and a glass full of ice to Charity.

"Thank you," she said as her eyes drifted back to the small movie screen.

The flight continued on quietly. Some passengers conversed quietly amongst themselves, but the only thing she heard was the sound in her headphones. Her eyelids began to get heavy. She tried to stay awake by shaking her head, but soon she was fast asleep.

Images of the dream from the night before flashed in Charity's mind. She saw the plane which looked oddly similar to the one she was sitting in. This time she was not in the cockpit, but in a seat close to the back of the plane. The dark clouds loomed menacingly outside the little windows. She unbuckled her seatbelt and moved forward through the empty cabin. She could see a bright red light directly in front of her. She moved closer trying to find the source. The light was not actually a light she soon found, but a pair of fire red eyes.

Charity gasped waking herself from the nightmare. The image of the red eyes remained burned into her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Someone beside her asked. She jumped slightly from the noise letting out a small yelp.

"Huh," she managed to say.

"You were talking in your sleep," the young girl now seated next to her said. The girl was about six years old with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream."

She looked out the window hoping to get the images in her dream out of her head. When she turned back around the young girl was still sitting exactly as she had before staring at Charity.

"What was your dream about?" She asked.

"It was nothing," Charity said hoping the girl would just leave it alone.

Just as the girl was about to ask another question Charity heard a woman shout in the aisle.

"Darla, where did you run off to?" She was a tall woman with the same gold hair as the little girl. Charity knew she must be her mother.

"I'm over here, Mom!" Darla said as she leaned her head out into the aisle.

"What did I tell you about wandering off? Now get back to your seat young lady."

"Yes, Ma'am," she said sadly, but when she looked back to Charity her smile returned.

"Bye!" Darla said as she bounced down the aisle to her seat.

Charity watched as Darla sat back down and was lovingly scolded by her mother. The scene made her wish her mother was there. She suddenly felt very alone. She looked out the window to see the mass of white clouds still underneath the plane. Through the small open patches she thought she could see the blue ocean below.

The view from the front of the plane was much different from the serene view she had. The clouds began to darken and move toward them as if to swallow the plane whole. The ocean moved violently below swirling with the wind from the storm. The storm spanned for miles in each direction with no end in sight. The plane would have to go through.

Charity had already gone back to watching movies when the clouds finally reached them. A small amount of turbulence caused her to grab onto her armrest holding it tight until the shaking stopped. She looked out the window again to see the dramatic difference a few moments had made. She saw the dark clouds looming up ahead. Lightening streaked across the sky in beautiful but deadly patterns. The choppy sea below was only visible through small patches of the increasingly darkening clouds. She slammed the little window screen shut and sat back in her chair.

Suddenly the plane shook violently as though it hit a solid object in the air. A couple of the overhead compartments popped open and a suitcase fell to the floor with a loud bang. The jolt had caused all the sleeping passengers to wake most with a startled look on their face. Some woke only for a minute before closing their eyes again as if they knew it was going to pass.

The fasten seat belt sign blinked above her as the captain's voice came over the intercom saying they were going to be flying above the storm so they might feel a bit of turbulence. Then the plane began to shake so badly it felt as though it was going to break into thousands of tiny pieces.

Charity stared at the closed window screen. She argued inside her head about reopening the screen to look out into the storm clouds. Each time she got the courage she stopped because her hands shook too violently.

They were sitting at an angle as the plane tried to get above the storm. She felt her stomach rise as it did during take-off. She swallowed hard trying to keep herself from being sick. A bolt of lightening hit close to the side of the aircraft. The electricity was felt through all the passengers causing the hairs on their arms to raise. Some of the passengers started to lose control. The man in the seat in front of Charity's was repeating over and over.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die . . . ," his voice was getting louder each time the plane shook.

The captain was on the speaker again trying to calm the passengers down and trying to calm himself down in the process. Soon the plane rose above the clouds and the shaking stopped

Some of the people sighed with relief as the captain announced they were now flying above the storm. Charity still sat tensed in her chair. A few tears trickled down her cheeks. To ease her mind she slowly opened the window cover and peeked outside. Her hands were still shaking as she moved the shade up revealing the scene outside. The dark clouds were below her, but they still seemed to cover the area in front of the plane. She could see they were over the storm, but somehow Charity didn't feel any more comfortable with the situation.

It is just my nerves. She thought. Everything is okay now.

She had the most awful feeling of deja vu, but she couldn't think of why. The last time she was on a plane it was nothing like what she was experiencing now. She just had this horrible feeling everything was somehow very familiar.

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