Page 14 of It's Not PMS, It's You

Their screaming was driving me insane.

What I needed was positive affirmations to block out their voices.

Everything is going to be fine. Nobody deserves to die this way. We’re all going to be okay. We’re going to walk away from this. I will never take life for granted again. I want to live. I promise to be a better person if I get through this. I promise to put my shopping cart back where it belongs after I unload the bags in my car at the grocery store.

We had been instructed earlier to stay in the crash position until told otherwise, but I couldn’t help lifting my head and peeking out the window to see if the plane was catching on fire as we slid down the runway.

The sparks, smoke, and small flames that shot up from underneath the plane were too much for me to handle.

I dropped my head back down and closed my eyes.

We’re going to live. We’re going to live. We’re going to live.

The plane finally came to a stop on the runway and the cabin erupted in cheers.

Why were they cheering?

We still needed to get out!

My heart was banging in my chest.

There was an announcement for us to stay in our seats. Soon, we would use the emergency chutes to slide out of the airplane one person at a time. Then we would take a shuttle bus to the special terminal that would have a holding area for us until we received further instructions.

I stared out my window at the fire and rescue crew surrounding the plane with their trucks and emergency vehicles. Shuttle buses were not that far behind them in the distance.

There was no way we could leave the plane yet since there was still smoke right outside the door. Something was still on fire, although I couldn’t tell exactly what it was. One of the larger fire trucks was already spraying liquid underneath the plane and on the wings and engines.

Did I just cheat death?

I turned to the man next to me after I heard sniffling.

His hands were covering his face, and he was shaking.

As if he knew I was watching him, he removed his hands from his face and wiped his eyes, shrugging. “Sorry.” He sniffled again.

I shook my head. “Please . . . there’s no need to apologize.”

“It’s just . . .” He pulled out his phone and showed me his screensaver, a wedding picture of a bride and groom kissing at the altar. He held it closer for me to see. “I got married three months ago. This was my first time away from my wife.”

I smiled. “She’s beautiful.”

He sniffled again. “She’s my soulmate and the thought of not seeing her again rips my heart in two.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

Dee was the only one in my life.

Yes, both of my parents were still alive and I loved them to death. I knew they loved me, but would they really miss me? That may be a dumb question for a lot of people since parents are supposed to love their children no matter what, but it wasn’t like I had made much of an effort to see them on a regular basis, even though they lived ten minutes from me.

And I had always been unlucky when it came to love.

Yes, I was picky as hell, but why shouldn’t I be? If the men weren’t good enough for me, they never got a second date. Dee said I was looking for the wrong type of man. She also said that I was too quick to judge and never gave the men a chance, but time was precious because of my demanding job.

Cheers and clapping filled the plane again when we were finally given clearance to evacuate.

“Ladies and gentleman, please take smaller items with you that are under your seat, but please do not open the overhead bins. All carryon items in the overhead bins will be delivered to you in the baggage claim area. Slide down the emergency chute one person at a time. Please stay calm. Wait for the person in front of you to clear the bottom of the chute before sliding down yourself.”

After we slid out of the plane, all the passengers—including me—ran toward the shuttle buses, like a scene out of a movie where we thought the plane might explode.