Confessions of an aviophobic

Confessions of an Aviophobic

“Why? Why?” I asked myself silently, as I walked towards the immigration counter at Changi Airport, I turned back to the glass panel insistently separating me from my parents,

“No turning back now.” Edmund lamented as we both waved back to our parents, some parents who were starting to tear in their eyes.

I was one of the thirty odd students selected to go for the China school exchange program, one of the few who seemingly started regretting the moment intensely. “Bang!” The lady at the immigration counter stamped my passport waking me from my stupor. We proceeded to the boarding bay, after ten minutes we proceeded to board the huge Boeing 747 operated by SIA. On the aerobridge, the friendly SIA staff greeted us, making me feel more relaxed. After making my way to my seat, I left my bag in the storage cabin and sat down nervously.

I looked over to Edmund who was looking equally nervous; I looked at the seat belt and buckled it, “First time flying?” I asked Edmund, trying to ease the tension that hung over us.

“Yes……” he moaned over to me. As the plane began to take off, I gripped my seat tightly and with a prayer on my lips, the huge plane soared into the clear blue sky, almost free from the gravity of the Earth.

“Waaah!” I gripped the handles on the seat, my knuckles turning white, as we headed into a misty white cloud, we had flown directly into the turbulence, the plane dipped and rose, and we finally stopped descending. I decided to play a movie on the screen, after watching for awhile, I fell into a deep sleep.

After that incident I feared stepping into a plane again.