CHAPTER TWO

- Erizza's POV -

The calming breeze brought by the morning air kissed my skin. It feels like a feather gently brushing my temples to the apples of my cheeks. My lips shuddered a little because of the familiar feeling that I get every time I walked towards the airplane waiting for me to do my duty. I fixed my floral scarf atop the navy blue collar of my uniform before I climbed the airstair. The cabin crew welcomed me with their carefree smiles and greetings as soon as I entered the plane.

I greeted them back with my signature smile. I walked towards the kitchen and I felt the presence of my fellow flight attendant following me behind.

"Captain Reeve is at it again" I heard Tania whispered.

"He's checking up on you?" I asked pressing the turn-on button of the coffee maker. I know the cabin crew should be doing this but I just loved the aroma of the coffee makes. Especially in the morning.

Tania nodded and hugged herself like she's shivering in cold. "I swear you will not like it. He's being overprotective over me and it reminds me of my brother" she complained.

"At least someone's concerned about you," I said with a teasing smile.

"Stop it Erizza" she rolled her eyes on me and helped me to organize the snacks on the tray that will be served in the middle of the flight later.

"Well, Captain Reeve is fine and confident" Tania commented. "Maybe I should count him in" she added.

"I thought he is creeping you out?" I asked again because the last time we talked about him, Tania told me he finds him as a fine-creep-looking pilot. I've worked with him a lot and to be honest, he is a nosy guy.

"He's fine Erizza, he's fine" she nodded nonchalantly emphasizing the word 'fine'.

"Yeah you like fine guys and Captain Reeve is one of them," I concluded that she agreed.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps towards us and we both turned our heads to see who's coming. We thought it was just another cabin crew but it was a man looking freshly fit in his white uniform who just entered the kitchen wearing his proud smile.

"Good morning Captain!" I salute.

"Good morning Erizza!" he saluted back.

His eyes quickly shifted to Tania whose eyes widen at the sight of him.

Yep, my friend is tensed. Great.

"I'll go help the passengers" I elbowed her but she only gave me a nod without even looking in my direction.

I exited the kitchen and walked into the aisle. The seats are almost occupied and there are few more passengers boarding the airplane. A lady sat on the aisle seat with her suitcase. Our eyes met and I encouraged her with a smile.

She handed me her purple suitcase. It's a little heavy but I still managed to carry it and place it in the luggage compartment.

"Thank you," she said.

"Your welcome" I replied with a beaming smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen this is Captain Reeve. We should depart in for about 5 minutes."

The voice of the speaker filled the air. I took a deep breath to check up on the passengers preparing for the flight. I am walking on the aisle when my eyes captured a man sitting on the last row. He is seated beside the window, he keeps on stroking his hair and squeezing his eyes shut numerous times.

Without hesitation, I walked towards the man. His eyes looked up to me straight away when he saw me approaching him.

"Are you okay, sir?" I asked him politely.

"Y-Yeah. It happens every time" he stammered, beads of sweat dripping down his temples.

Obviously, he doesn't.

"Motion sickness, I see. Is there something you want me to do to make you feel better?" I offered.

The man just blinked his eyes at me with his lips slightly parted in surprise.

"Sir?" I called again and he quickly snapped back.

"Yes." He nodded, unease. "Could you please hold my hand? It'll make me feel alright" he said. There's a flush of unconformity in his voice even though he tried to lift the corner of his lips to form a smile.

In my experiences of being a flight attendant, I encountered this as a common situation among the passengers. I can relate to them because even when I had a lot of trainings before, I can feel how my stomach clenches and my sweat drops whenever we get ready for take-off.

"Sure, sir," I said calmly and sat on the empty seat next to him.

"Flight attendants, prepare for take-off please."

"Cabin crew please take your seats for take-off"

I sit upright and buckle my seatbelt, then I looked to check if his seatbelt is on. Gladly, it was already fastened.

He moved his hand to lay it on the armrest next to me. To make him feel better just like what he requested a while ago, I placed my hand on his palm. I felt his hands trembled and moisten because of sweat. I turned my head to look at him and he was just leaning his head on the headrest of the seat, making quivery breaths.

"No matter how I try to calm myself down I still get nervous" he stated. "I can't relax" he added and tilted his head to look at me.

"You'll be fine sir," I assured him gently hoping to calm him down.

"Yeah I will" he replied in a low voice.

When the plane begins moving, I feel his hands quickly intertwining with mine and then gripped it. His hands were shaking and his sweats became more excessive. I put my other hand on top of our entwined hands to clasp it. I felt his gaze shifted to me which urged me to instinctively gaze at him back.

Unexpectedly, my breath slowed down heavily in pace. I want to look away because of how tense and magnetic his stare is.

Yes, tense and magnetic. It feels that way.

But I think it's too late to look away because my eyes are already glued to him. The sunlight reflecting upon the window hit his eyes and I can see clearly how it emphasizes the shape of its iris and pupils. At first, I thought they were gray but they changed into green. But when the plane ascended, I saw that it was like a mixture of teal and stone blue with juniper green outside the circle of the pupil. I don't know how it is called, the color of his eyes is difficult to point out but if there's one word to describe them: glorious.

He neither budged nor made a sound. He was just staring at me keenly.

Of course, I feel a bit self-conscious because of how we look right now. But as a flight attendant, I am here to ensure his safety and comfort.

'Be calm Erizza. Just be calm…for him.'

I keep on reminding myself.

We waited for the airplane to pass above the clouds and to climb up to its altitude. Our hands are still intertwined and our eyes are still focused on each other. I can finally feel him gaining his composure and his hands starting to soften.

And before I could even blink, my eyes unwillingly looked down at his lips.

'Hey look away!'

The voice at the back of my mind hissed at me. And even though I want to, my eyes didn't escape from witnessing how this man showed me his lips shaped to a simple smile.

"SIGNORE e signori, welcome to Venice Marco Polo Airport. The local time is 12:00 noon and the temperature is 32 degrees."

The airplane finally touched the ground. The flicking sound of the unbuckling seatbelts echoed, signifying that the passengers are ready to go.

Italy is absolutely the first European country I will visit. All this time, my flights were just around Asia to Middle East countries. They are all wonderful and I honestly had a blast in there but I can't just hide my excitement to see the beauty of Italy.

I've been to many beautiful places and interacted with different kinds of people. I witnessed how different their lives were from mine and I heard their stories that made me inspired to live my life to the fullest. They are all inspiring that pushed me to go on. My life was once in a gloomy state but here I am now, living the present that was given to me. A chance to live purposefully and to fulfill the dreams I was just dreaming about when I was young.

Every day is a blessing to me and it is something I will never get tired of being thankful for.

"Dear passengers, please check for your personal belongings and remain seated as our crew members assist you with your luggage. On behalf of Skyrise Airlines and the entire crew, we'd like to thank you for choosing us as your airline of choice. Have a good day, night, and stay! Arrivederci!"

When the last announcement was stated by Tania, I helped in unloading the luggage compartment and carrying the bags. I make sure I'm not hitting anyone and not bumping every person with my body.

Finally, when all the passengers left the plane, we made sure to have an entire check-up inside. Then, Tania and my fellow crew pick up our own luggage and exited the plane.

The entrance door of the airplane is connected to the air bridge. The sunlight is passing through the cyan blue glass walls producing tiny silver sparks.

We haven't reached the middle of the bridge yet when my eyes caught a pair of eyes looking at me. He is a few meters away; his hand is inside the pocket of his pants while the other one is holding the strap of his bag behind his shoulders.

I immediately recognized him that is why I automatically stopped walking. He made a few steps towards me until there's only a meter space between us.

"I didn't get to say thank you" He begins saying while scratching the back of his head. "That was actually more embarrassing" he added looking away.

I slightly let out a chuckle before he looked at me again. "It's okay sir, I've handled a lot of passengers with motion sickness before, so there's no reason to be embarrassed." I smiled. "It's my duty to always ensure the safety and comfort of our passengers." I continued.

"Thank you so much" he grinned.

"No worries. I'm happy to help." I grinned back.

I looked away and was about to take a step when I suddenly hear his voice one last time.

"Are we going to see each other again?" he asked.

I turned to face him and caught his eyes waiting for me to give an answer. His tone was serious yet hopeful. Observing the pattern of his breath, I know he wants a more agreeable reply. The world is big and I don't think we will see each other again. But who knows?

"I'm not sure, but I will be delighted to see you again, sir." I gave him my fetching smile and nod my head to say goodbye.

He didn't say a word nor budged anymore. I turned my back at him only to see that my fellow crew are watching from afar. Especially Tania whose grinning from ear to ear.

I just shook my head and sighed. I continued walking towards them who are waiting for me. I know they are going to ask me a lot of questions later. But whatever it is, I'll just make sure I will answer them right away.