Member-only story
Re-Tell the Past
What If I Had Abandoned My Assumptions and It Ended in Cheerful Bliss?
What If the Sliding Doors Brought Me a Different Outcome?
“Bye, Nancy!” my mother says as she hugs me at the airport. As I turn back around to wave goodbye one more time, she has already left.
The weight of leaving my ailing father causes my pace to slow. I look down at my feet. Each one moves in front of the other, through the boarding bridge, towards the plane’s open door. I take a deep breath, smiling quickly at the flight attendant, showing her my boarding pass.
“Make a left here and walk down that aisle.”
“Thank you,” I mutter, following her instructions.
Dropping my backpack onto the seat doesn’t remove the heaviness. As I push the pack under the seat in front of me with my feet, I hear myself sigh. And then I sigh again as I plop into the seat.
Five hours later, I land in sunny California, grab my belongings, and see my smiling brother waiting for me in baggage claim. He has been the avid cheerleader of my graphic design talent, showing off my portfolio at any chance he can get. As he drives me to my new home, an off-campus apartment, I breathe in the warmth, watching the tall palm trees sway with the…
