We had reached cruising altitude in the passenger airplane I was sitting aboard was sailing

turbulently through the sky, riding on air currents, and exploiting physics in ways that I would

never understand. Maybe it was my ignorance of these principles which made me so nervous,

my legs trembled with constant vibrations. My teeth had been chattering for a while during takeoff,

but now my nerves had settled down to a dull roar.

Are you sure you're all right? The white haired man sitting next to me asked,

his hand settling on my arm in a comforting way. Should I call the stewardess over?

She can get you some water or a cup of tea to calm the nerves.

Maybe a shot of brandy too. He laughed, gripping my arm just a little too firmly now.

I'm fine, I said. The worst of its past. As long as we don't run into engine trouble,

I should be okay. That statement caught a few angry glares from passengers nearby

who quickly went back to reading or talking amongst themselves. I scolded myself internally for

saying my worst fear is out loud. Nobody liked to think about engine trouble when they were flying

over the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night. Well, let's not speak of those things

just now. Do you want a book to read? I brought a spare novel. It's a John Grisham.

Nothings. Well, how about some television? I think they have cable on these little things now

a days. He pointed at the screen on the headrest in front of me. I hadn't even noticed it there.

That's a good idea. Maybe I can find something to distract myself.

I turned the power on and noticed immediately the lack of sound. Of course, I had forgotten to bring

earphones. Here, the man next to me said, handing me a pair of his own. I'm not using them right now.

You can borrow them. They were the kind with foam pads on the outside of the headphones,

not earbuds. So I felt relatively safe using them, even though I am a bit of a germaphob.

...