Page 48 of The Cloud Catcher

‘Zara! I finally made it!’ Suzanne’s vibrant voice and quickened footsteps cut through the quiet. ‘The traffic was horrendous. Thank goodness I finally found a park close by.’

‘Pfft, tell me about it.’ Zara rolled her eyes. ‘The roadworks never seem to end, hey.’

‘I swear they just keep on fixing the same part of the highway.’ Suzanne flapped a hand through the air. ‘Anyways, I’m here.’ She plonked her luggage in beside Zara’s. ‘Are you ready for your very first overseas take-off since becoming a mum?’

‘I feel bad in saying so, because my mum hat keeps wanting to slip back on, but heck yes.’ Zara did a little jiggle on the spot.

‘Just think about all the wonderful adventures you’ll be able to tell the girls about when you get back home.’ Suzanne placed a comforting hand on her arm. ‘And that’s way better than any bedtime story.’

Zara smiled and they shared a knowing look. The anticipation of shared work above the clouds — where the world shrank to the size of an airplane cabin and their camaraderie expanded to fill every space within it — was one only airline staff would truly comprehend.

A voice crackled through the speakers, alerting them to the incoming business-class passengers. ‘Best get to work, instead of standing around chatting all day long.’ Suzanne leant in and pecked her cheek. ‘I’m so happy to be working with you again.’

‘Ditto,’ Zara replied as they took their posts at the cabin doorway.

Once all passengers were safely on board and strapped into their seats, as the engines roared to life, Zara and Suzanne secured themselves as the Boeing 747 began its slow crawl down the runway. Full throttle, it lifted up and into the sky, suddenly weightless, soaring, free. Smiling to herself, Zara glanced out the small oval window, watching as the tarmac became a blur and Brisbane slipped away beneath them. And her heart lifted even more as they broke through the blanket of clouds.

‘So, serious question.’ Suzanne nudged Zara from her thoughts. ‘Do you think they’ll go for the chicken à l’orange or the garlic prawn pasta today?’ she joked, her laughter light and effervescent, bubbling up amid the gravity of take-off.

‘My bet is the posh nosh chicken,’ Zara wagered, playing along with the age-old inflight gamble. ‘Always bet on the chicken.’

Suzanne pulled an expression that hollered her agreement.

After the seatbelt light flicked off, they rose and moved down the aisle, offering reassuring smiles in the intricate dance they’d performed countless times together. With each gentle tilt of the plane, more of the Australian coastline disappeared beneath the steel wings until they were left soaring high above the ocean. And as the plane reached cruising altitude, its steady heartbeat flush against the sky, Zara and Suzanne prepared to tend to the needs of those entrusted to their care. It was only a few hours in when the tranquillity of the cabin was abruptly shattered as the aircraft jolted in a sudden and savage shake that sent cups clattering and whispers of panic through the aisles. Her eyes darting left to right, Zara watched her passengers’ knuckles whiten against the armrests, their collective breaths held in a cloud of fear. She quickly exchanged a concerned glance with Suzanne.

‘Attention, passengers, it’s your captain speaking. Sorry about the bumps but we are experiencing unexpected weather conditions,’ came the announcement, the captain’s voice a thread of control spun across the cabin. ‘Our priority is your safety, so please stay seated with your seatbelts securely fastened. We will update you again shortly.’

Although she was shaken, too, Zara made sure she remained a picture of serenity as she and Suzanne moved down each of the aisles with practised grace. ‘Please remain calm, everyone.’ Her voice cut through the fog of anxiety like a lighthouse beam. ‘Is everyone okay?’ she asked, her eyes meeting each passenger’s concerned gaze with an unspoken promise of safety.

Nods and murmured replies met her.

‘Take deep breaths, the captain has got everything under control,’ she reassured an elderly woman who clutched at her pearls as if they were a lifeline back to solid ground.

‘Thank you, my dear,’ the woman whispered, her blue-grey eyes reflecting the storm outside.

‘Suz, how are you holding up?’ Zara inquired over the din of anxious murmurs as soon as she’d closed the gap between them.

Suzanne exuded a trained, focused calm. ‘I’m okay,’ she replied with a smile before she gave Zara’s arm a reassuring squeeze then turned to help a young man secure his belongings. ‘Just another day at the office, right?’ she added once she straightened back to Zara’s side.

‘Right,’ Zara echoed with a nod.

The speakers crackled to life again. ‘All passengers remain in your seats with seatbelts fastened. And all crew immediately to their seats please.’ The captain’s voice was steady, but Zara’s honed air-hostess ears heard the miniscule tremor.

Buckling in for the bumpy ride ahead, she and Suzanne remained side by side as partners in this aerial ballet. After a few more belly-turning jolts the plane steadied momentarily. However, it was a prelude to another bout of turbulence. Zara’s grip on her armrest tightened. This didn’t feel good. Not at all. Instinctively, she clutched Suzanne’s hand as she tried to take calming breaths. But, in the blink of an eye, the world inside the cabin was shattered as a violent shudder ripped through the plane’s cold hard steel. The overhead compartments, once secure and orderly, betrayed their latches and disgorged a chaotic torrent of belongings that tumbled and twirled in the turbulent air, adding to the cacophony already filling the space. Amid the roar of engines and howling wind, blood-curdling screams pierced the chaos. Zara’s heart thumped like boxer’s fists against her chest, each beat a drumroll in the symphony of fear that crescendoed around her.

Oh, God, please let us all make it home alive …

As she and Suzanne tightened their grip on each other’s hands, her fingers turned white. A little girl fell into the aisle and her mother screamed. Without a second’s thought for her own safety, Suzanne was unbuckled and on her feet, rushing to their aid. Zara was helpless to stop her. Then, as if in slow motion, the plane lurched violently and Suzanne, mid-stride in the narrow aisle, was flung like a marionette with its strings cut loose by an unseen puppeteer. Zara cried out but her voice was swallowed by a deafening boom that reverberated through the aircraft’s metal bones as she horrifically watched Suzanne collide with the unforgiving floor. Her bright green eyes briefly met Zara’s right before being obscured by passengers bracing for impact.

I have to get to her …

In a moment of utter desperation, Zara longed to get to Suzanne, but the uncontrollable movements of the plane pinned her down. Try as she might, her seatbelt buckle wouldn’t budge. But then, as if answering her prayer, a man just across from her successfully unbuckled and quickly made his way over to her best friend. He reached out a steady hand, and relief and gratitude washed over her as she watched Suzanne accept the stranger’s help, then, after settling the sobbing little girl back beside her mother, Suzanne took the spare seat near them as the turbulence continued to batter the plane, each jolt a reminder of Zara’s own vulnerability. She felt her life caught between the earth and the sky, where loved ones were both anchors and distant shores. Amid the clamour and fear, the scent of salt lingered in Zara’s senses, a haunting reminder of the moments she and Jay had shared by the ocean. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to drift on those memories, finding solace in the belief that every storm eventually found its peace. She just prayed it would be sooner rather than later, because there was only so much that even a plane this size could take.

The captain’s voice came through the intercom, steady beneath the blaring alarms and the panicked gasps of passengers. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. As you are aware, we are navigating through some extremely turbulent weather conditions. I want to assure you that we’re taking every measure to ensure a safe arrival once this is behind us. So please, help us to help you, and keep our staff safe, by remaining seated with your seatbelts fastened nice and tight.’

Zara clung to the fabric of her seat, her knuckles white as pearls against the dark blue upholstery. The hum of the pilot’s voice, usually a comforting reminder of routine announcements, now carried the weight of their collective fate. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed with all of her might while feeling the tremors of the aircraft reverberate through her bones. In all her years, she’d never experienced such fear in the air. And as she prayed for safety, for herself and everyone on board, the plane lurched abruptly once again, like a great bird fighting against invisible currents, and her heart followed suit, fluttering in her chest with frenzied wings. She thought of her two beautiful girls, their playful laughter like a soothing melody, and how they danced like dandelion seeds on the wind. She imagined Jay, having to raise them as a widowed father. And she almost, nearly, broke down and sobbed her terrified heart out as her very soul seemed to stretch towards them, yearning for the simplicity of bedtime stories and goodnight kisses as deafening seconds stretched into what felt like an eternity cloaked in shadows.

Then, miraculously, as rapidly as it had started, the turbulence began to ease. The wild gyrations of the plane softened into hesitant shudders, then into mere quivers, as if the sky itself was learning to exhale after holding its breath for far too long. Unaware she’d been squeezing her eyes shut, Zara opened them slowly, tentatively, as if afraid that even a single glance might shatter the fragile calm.