Time Pt. 2

Milton heard many people around him murmuring so he turned away from Whitney. He noticed on the board their plane had actually arrived and was unloading.

“Hey, Whitney, lookit. While we were talking, our plane arrived and is ahead of schedule!” Milton turned to get her attention. When she turned around, her smile could've lit up the room. To Milton, it did.

“That's good! Very good! How long were we talking? These stupid things are broken, I swear.” She looked back at her purse and began gather the nest she had made of magazines.

“Should I get my things ready? I don't do this whole 'flying' thing often.” He began shift in his seat as he looked at the other passengers gathering their bags.

“You should. Don't worry, you can follow me.” She shot him a grin before continuing on with her pile of magazines. Milton smiled as he reached under his seat and grabbed his bag. He and Whitney sat quietly, waiting for the announcement for their boarding class. They both chuckled when the well-dressed Indian man next to them awoke, looked at the board, and went back to sleep on his nice briefcase.

The voice over the intercom announced it was time for their plane to start boarding. Their group was eventually called and they stood to board their flight together.

“Should we wake him up and let him know?” Milton carried his bag in his hand as Whitney started
towards their gate.

“I'm sure he's on a different flight.” She said as she swung her bag on her shoulder.

After going through security, they lined up to get on board. She checked in first and he followed. She
waited for him though after she had her ticket checked. When he approached her, she both turned to board the plane. She quickly grabbed his hand as they walked on the plane. He almost pulled it away. Milton, surprised, turned to look at her.

“Getting on is the scariest part.” She whispered. He smiled back at her.

“Don't worry. I'm here.” Milton shook as he spoke. It was arguably the best interaction he had ever
had with a woman, save for his sweaty palms, wobbly knees, and dry mouth. Regardless, he felt like he was the strongest man alive. It was also the first time he had willingly grabbed another person's
hand in a nonprofessional setting in years. He was on top of the world.

They found their seats and stored their bags. She pulled out a few magazines and placed them in her seat before sitting in it. He took his place in the aisle after pulling a book from his bag. As the other passengers got on, she started fingering through one of her magazines, just flipping pages,
not really reading anything.

“I'm... a little nervous.” She stammered as she rapidly turned the pages.

“Chew some gum.” He said as he opened his book at the point he left off.

“I've already swallowed my other piece, I'd rather not chew more. I don't have much.” She said as she set down one magazine and picked up another.

“Relax. We're gonna be-” He was interrupted as she put down her new issue and turned to Milton.

“Can I tell you something?” Her eyes narrowed and she looked around the cabin.

“Sure.” He closed his book and turned to Whitney.

“Remember when I said I was at 4 hours, and before that I was at 14 years?” She set her magazine at her side to give Milton her full attention, “Since I've started talking to you, it went from 4 hours, to 14 years, to 48 years while we were just sitting in the terminal, talking. It got me really excited, I'm really excited about having met you. It hasn't gone back down since. I haven't heard anything about 20 in so long...”

“Mine's 78.” He leaned over and whispered in her ear as he shut his book in his lap. The other
passengers trying to get by also made it difficult to concentrate on his book anyway.

“I'm sorry?” She gave him a very befuddled look.

“78 years. I'm 27, my voice tells me I'm going to make it past 100 in my current state.” He almost felt smug in stating the fact.

“Really? You're lying.” She said through a slowly growing smile.

“Really. I'm gonna be an old, old man. I've never had a health problem in my life. I don't do anything
bad. No smoking, drugs, beer. I don't even like coffee.” Milton shrugged

“Wow, I guess you're my good luck charm.” She spoke softly to him. He was mesmerized by her smile, her entire being. He felt something with her he had never truly felt before. It was so simple. Just a connection with another human. Milton looked at the cover of his book felt the possibilites for his life, his future, were infinite.

“I like that. I'll take it.” He smiled to himself as she picked up one of her magazines and went back
to flipping through the pages. Soon after, the pilot announced they'd be taking off soon. The speakers must have been broken because it was really garbled and difficult to understand. As the flight attendant closed the door and started to explain the flight procedures, Whitney opened her window and leaned towards Milton.

“I forgot I have a window,” she whispered, “I'm usually on the aisle. This is gonna be great.”

“You should have low expectations for what the world looks like from above. It's usually a bunch of
clouds or lots of water.” He began to open his book as the attendants finished their routine.

“I've never actually seen it, I'm excited.” Whitney turned back to the window when the plane started
to move. As it took position on the runway, she took the gum out of her bag and opened a new piece. Milton noticed and turned to her.

“Nervous?” He spoke softly.

“Excited.” She smiled back at him. As they pulled down the runway, she grabbed his hand and leaned over to him, “I lied earlier. This is the worst part.”

She nervously chuckled as the plane accelerated. Milton smiled and confidently grabbed her hand. The plane rattled slightly and Whitney sighed. Milton looked over and they locked eyes as the plane lifted up. They were smiling at each other when a loud bang shook the aircraft violently.

“10 minutes.”

Milton felt his entire body go numb in an instant, he felt his heart leap into his throat. When he looked back at Whitney, all the color had left her face and she stared back at him.

“What's your time?” Her voice trembled as she asked. People throughout the cabin were starting to
murmur to one another.

“I heard... I swear, I heard '10 minutes'.” Milton spoke quietly and his worst fears were confirmed.

“I-I did, too...” Whitney tightened her grip on Milton's hand.

Milton turned to look around at the other passengers and could see the fear quickly set in all their
faces. 10 minutes, 11 minutes, 12, it didn't matter. Everyone began panicking as the captain began to speak over the intercom.

“Something... happened... terribly wrong... landing the aircraft... please remain...” Few could understand the garbled messages from the captain as people began to yell and stand. Many sat and prayed. Milton turned to Whitney. Her grip was hurting Milton's hand but both refused to let go.

“Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay.” Milton tried to convince her as the voice in their heads
continued proving him wrong. Even Milton trembled and teared up. Their lives were completely out of their hands now.

“I know. I'm not worried anymore.” She began to cry as the plane jerked forward and the other passengers screamed and pleaded for their lives. Milton reached over and grabbed her. He stopped caring about germs. He stopped caring about his job, his parents, the people in the world around him. Milton only cared about Whitney, and held her as the aircraft violently lurched forward again.