America: Flying in the Clouds

Alfred Jones had never been the one to question the effects of gravity. Since he was constantly on the move and never liked staying calm and still for over a span of a few seconds, the entire concept was irrelevant to him. He knew that if the object was light it would either fall slowly or float before descending, if the object was heavy it would plummet without any pause or hesitation. However, he was amazed how one woman loved to challenge the laws of physics and laws of society altogether. She had attempted to fly when she was a little girl after witnessing a roller coaster during a trip to St. Louis, then she constructed a home-made ramp to a tool shed and then tried to take flight. This only resulted in a torn and ruined new dress, a cut and busted lip, and the young child screaming that experience was the most adventurous thing in the world. She then made a vow to him that she would fly whether the world liked it or not, and at first the world didn't. Alfred continued to watch as this child pursued her dream to fly and studied plans as she grew older. His frequent visits with the family grew less and less as the years got busier and went by. He would write, and receive letters. To which it would take him a long period of time to reply to but each time there would be something new going on with the Earhart's, from their increasing wealth to the aspiring aviator explaining the newest airplanes turbines. However, near the end of 1914 Alfred managed to make a trip down to help the family with two major problems. Mr. Earhart had submerged into alcoholism and their grandmother had suddenly died.

At the funeral it was announced that their wealth was put in a trust, for fear of the father drinking their home and family into the ground. Alfred showed up on common courtesy and a condolence call, seeing as he rarely knew the grandmother rather than the rest of the family. A little bit away from the funeral he had found Amelia. She didn't ramble about planes or the weather; she just stood on a hill without shoes and looking very collected. He wanted to remark to the seventeen year old how much she had grown since his last visit but instead he chose to stand next to her and stare off into the distance with her. Amelia took a deep inhale along with the crisp breeze and outstretched her arm to the sky, her fingers spreading wide. "My grandmother achieved I've wanted for years…" she stated quietly.

Alfred looked at her with a confused expression and asked what she meant, Amelia replied after a moment of deep contemplation. "She got her wings, and now she can fly anywhere she wants. And no one can stop her."

Alfred swore that he would keep in touch more and he knew that she too would fly someday.

During the progression of World War 1 Alfred had received a letter when returning home from the frontlines. Amelia had begun to work with the Volunteer Aid Detachment at Spadina Military Hospital. With tired eyes he noticed that in some of the paragraphs the ink was smudged with either rain or teardrops. She explained how she had to prepare food for patients with special needs and diets then handed out medication. She said it was mundane work but the patients loved to hear about her theories of bird's right before they took wing. She then asked him frantically when the war would end and why was it necessary for fighting. He never replied but she continued to write.

She was still working at the hospital when the Spanish Flu hit. She even recklessly got herself sick and was hospitalized. Before he could make a brief visit she forbid him from coming and said she was fine. She was hospitalized in November and discharged in December. He never spoke about it because it irritated her but he was never afraid to think about it. Instead of her health she talked about an experience with a friend when they visited an air fair. A pilot tried to scare them by a steep dive in his plane at them. Her friend ran away but Amelia stood her ground and dauntlessly watched. Alfred smiled and wished it was an exaggeration.

Alfred saw her again while running to catch a taxi, not in person but in print. She was on the front of a newspaper. He almost got his hand ran over but managed to grab the newspaper before it hit the street. It was definitely her. He was positive. Her hair was cropped shirt and she looked boyish with her leather jacket. She was standing next to a Biplane and was giving a giant thumbs up to the photographer. The caption underneath the picture said, "Her name is The Canary and I will fly her." Then on May 15, 1923 she was the 16th woman to be issued a pilot's license.

He lost touch in between but saw her once more with President Hoover, and even heard a little later down the road in a letter that she was married. While juggling his duties with the President and the other nations he made a promise to visit, which so happened to be right before her disappearance across the Atlantic. They sat upon the docks with their feet lightly brushing against the water.

"Alfred do you think that you'll ever fly one day?" She asked, turning to him and smiling widely.

He scratched his head, "I've flown already though Amelia. Countless of times."

She shook her head, "That's a load of crock and you know it. Flying into deadly war aint flying. Flying is… invigorating. It's a sense of freefall but then a sense of suspension. It's unlike anything. You feel like you can do anything. Touch the clouds, sprout wings, and speak to god. Alfred you have to try it! Promise!"

He laughed at her and held up his hands in defense. "Alright, alright. I'll fly, if you actually do make it around the Atlantic. As soon as you get back I'll get my license." He pulled out the old picture of her and The Canary and handed it to her. She furrowed her brows and then laughed before folding it into a paper airplane. She then brought back her arm and flung the flimsy object toward the sky. It soared freely before slowly drifting to the top of the water.

"I'll come back. Birds always find their way back home."

Alfred stood on the same dock in present day. An aviator hat in hand and a pilot's license under his belt, but no Amelia in sight. Amelia was no bird; she never returned and was still missing mysteriously to this day. Alfred remembers feeling distraught after her disappearance and sent countless on search and rescue missions but with no avail. Years past and people forgot. He forgot sometimes but he got his license and he learned to fly, he learned to grow wings like she did, and he learned to live in memory. Alfred smiled and shoved his hat over his head before looking up toward the sky, knowing she was there in the clouds.