TLS (The Lemonade Stand) Flash Fic 5/3
Prompt: www. tehlemonadestand ?zx=d85b700fa015d74a
She's been in remission for a year now. Her thinner hair touches her shoulders and her skin finally resembles what it was before. She can breathe and sleep and eat. At twenty-six, her bones are healthy as they can ever be, and it is a gift.
She's promised herself she won't ever be afraid.
The plane ascends, jostling passengers as it breaks through a layer of clouds. Her ears pop. She plugs them with her fingers, widens her jaw in a way that is unattractively excessive. The man across the aisle throws a crooked grin her way then offers up a stick of gum.
A flight attendant solicits snacks, and the man hands over ten dollars for two rum and Cokes.
Pretzels, too, please.
He moves to the empty seat next to her.
A child's movie plays on the screen – something about a cowboy and a spaceman. She's not really sure. Neither is he.
They talk about little somethings. Her ribs cage in acrobatic butterflies. He wonders where she's staying, if she's meeting anyone there.
Five hours later they awaken to the announcement that the weather at Heathrow is a perfect thirteen degrees Celsius. They'll be landing shortly. She slides open the shade, peers through the window.
He cranes his neck, searching for proof they truly are over part of Europe. He's not disappointed when he catches a glimpse of the Thames. It's his first time, too.
"I am in love," she says, staring out at the rapidly approaching city.
"How many times do you plan to fall?"
The question doesn't catch her off guard.
She turns to him. "So many."
He slides his hand over hers.
She's been in remission for nearly two years. He slips her shirt over her head, traces the words scripted over her butterfly cage.