Welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Each morning I spend fifteen minutes writing on a singular story line. Each morning starts with the last line of the previous day. The goal is to get a (very) rough draft out of the simple story idea and to avoid letting the story idea languish in limbo forever, actually writing it out. This is the third year I have done this writing experiment and each year I learn just a little bit about myself and the way I write as well as creating a framework for the story. But without further ado…
Day 34: Worry began to gnaw at her.
Worry began to gnaw at her. She was going to an unknown place with people who were mostly unknown. The day before it seemed like an escape. It was a way not to have to hear the details as Lisa planned her wedding to Toby. Where she wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with herself as everyone else went on with their plans. It was a place to figure out her new plans.
Not knowing anyone was an attractive option the day before. Now she found the thought of not knowing anyone to be daunting. ‘No one I know will even be in the same time zone.’ She thought. Somehow that made it seem even worse as though a few hours was heavier than the weight of the clock hands.
‘I don’t even know if they are picking me up at the airport,’ she thought. She suddenly realized that she should have asked for more details. Panic started to rise and for a second she thought she was going to vomit up her burger.
Here she was in the middle of a flight far from home and she had no idea what was waiting for her at the end of it. Gwen took a deep breath. She breathed in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. It calmed her the same way it did when she was running. In through the nose, out through the mouth. The routine of it settled her.
‘I have my phone,’ she told herself. While it was fully charged, it was turned off and in her bag. ‘If no one is there to pick me up then I’ll call my dad and get my grandparents number or address from him. An airport is bound to have some sort of taxi waiting.’ It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was something and it calmed her panic.
Thoughts of just returning home flew through her mind but she knew that wasn’t a practical option. The flight attendant began calling her flight to board and Gwen stood, waiting for her seat section to be called. It was too late to turn back, panic or not. She made this choice and she was stuck with it.
Gwen boarded with the others and this time she had an aisle seat instead of a window one. While the first plane was full, this one felt stuffed to capacity. The plane had three seats to the row and each one seemed to have an occupant. She shifted aside so the other two people in her row could take their seats. The two seats next to her were occupied by a couple about her father’s age and they quietly took their seats. They had a tired look to them as though they had a very long journey before even reaching this flight and were just ready for the day to be done. The woman took the window seat and the man took the center. He fastened his seatbelt, offered her a friendly smile and then put on a sleep mask. To Gwen it looked like he fell asleep instantly.
The woman with him shook her head, looking at him affectionately before she too put on a sleep mask and lay back. Gwen checked her watch. By her reckoning it was still early evening. She felt tired from traveling but wasn’t nearly as exhausted as the other two.
‘They probably had further to travel.’
Ten til Midnight 