Abigail was always afraid to fly. Now, at the age of eighteen, she was finally out on her own and ready to face the world. She knew her life would be hard on her for the next few years as she tried to get herself settled, so before her classes started, Abigail decided to take a leap. Ever since she was a child she had wanted to see the northern lights. She watched the National Geographic specials on the Aurora Borealis growing up and knew how they were formed and every myth and story that joined them.
Now, Abigail took the torn handle on her black carry-on bag and moved down the blueish grey corridor towards the airplane. The walls of the corridor seemed to be plastic, like a blown up toy she may have seen her big brother playing with at a younger age. The inside of the plane looked like those in the movies. There were two thin rows of coupled seats against the windows and a thick row between two aisles. The seats were the same blueish grey as the corriddor, and they had the same plastic look to them. Abigail took the seat next to a window and slid her carry-on under her feet.
A tall man sat down next to her, grasping a piece of paper in his hand. He had greying black hair that looked like a giant caterpillar wrapped around his bald head. He wore a green pinstripe suit and he had a leather case with him. He looked over the piece of paper as if he had looked it over a million times. After making sure nothing on the paper had changed since he last read it, he slid it in his back pocket and looked over at Abigail. His eyes matched his suit and Abigail could see that he hadn't shaven recently. His thin pink lips curled into a polite smile as he nodded towards the young girl, and she smiled back.
Abigail glanced out the window and watched the tube she had walked through shrink away towards the building. The doors closed and the stewardess stood before them and explained the safety procedures. She was very short and had very curly blond hair. Very blond hair. Nearly anyone could tell it was not her natural color, but she didn't seem to notice. When her speech had finished there was a long pause. Then the engines started up and the plane began to move.
After the plane had taken off and the stewardess announced that the passengers could move freely, Abigail got to feeling a little nervous. She pulled a sketch pad out of her carry-on and pulled a pencil from her pocket. Flipping past some already used pages, Abigail turned to a fresh white sheet. She put her pencil to the paper and sketched out an eye. The eye later became a sketch of a wolf. The man in the green watched as Abigail's sketch slowly turned into a whole Alaskan scene. The two talked as Abigail pulled out her colored pencils and began to give a glow to her drawing. The man seemed very interested in the school she was going to, as his own daughter was looking for a good school for an art major. Abigail explained that she had only visited the campus once, but it seemed very lovely there.
By the time Abigail's picture was fully colored, the stewardess announced that all the passengers should take their seats and fasten their safety belts. The landing was a smooth one and as Abigail packed away her pencils, she felt a rush of relief that the flight had gone alright. The young girl and the man in the green shook hands and said a polite farewell. Abigail once again walked through the corridor, although this one had lavender walls that looked more like carpets put on the wrong side of the room.
As she stepped out into the building, Abigail saw the people there waiting to greet family members and old friends. She moved through the crowd and outside where pink taxi cabs were waiting to pick up their customers. Abigail ran through the cold air to the closest one and got in. She placed her black bag next to her and pulled on a pair of deep red leather gloves. The cab lurched downward as the driver sat inside. He wore a brown coat and a knitted yellow hat. He shut the door and the vehicle sped along through the winter wonderland.
The ride was a long one filled with snowy scenes and cozy little towns till it finally pulled up in front of a building which looked more like a home than an inn. Abigail paid the driver and went inside. The inside of the building looked much bigger than Abigail thought it would be. There was a fireplace surrounded by dull green armchairs and a wooden coffee table lay between them. The owner of the inn was a funny old woman who couldn't say a sentence without a punch line. She wore a dark blue skirt with a white blouse that matched almost perfectly with her hair.
The woman showed Abigail to her room and, with one last joke, shut the door. The room was much smaller than the common room. There was a twin size bed with sheets of the same dull green as the chairs by the fire. There was a small wooden armor with a mirror and a separate room containing a sink, toilet, and shower. Abigail set her bag on a small table in front of a window and looked outside to the trees and the stars. Tomorrow she would take a taxi back to the town and meet her guide after dinner. Abigail smiled proudly and got ready for bed.
* * *
"Are you Abigail Thorne?" a man asked. Below his coat, the man's body was well built, and he possessed some handsome features. He was just a bit too old for Abigail though, and she smiled excitedly and answered with a high pitched, "Yes!". "My name is Arthur Hunt," he shook her gloved hand, "I'll be your guide for the night."
The two packed up their things into the back of a snow-covered truck and sped off into the wilderness. Abigail explained how she had waited her whole life to see the northern lights and she was so happy to see that the snow was beginning to lighten. After nearly two hours of driving through snowy valleys, the truck came to a small clearing complete with a naturally made cavern. Abigail began to unpack the truck as the man made certain the cave was not inhabited by any threatening creatures.
The wait was shorter than the drive when Abigail saw the first signs of Aurora Borealis beginning to form. Suddenly the dark sky was illuminated by a green glow. The lights danced over the sky and Abigail let out a little sigh as she stared in awe. Through the green and black, Abigail saw flashes of white and what had looked like fans spreading over the sky. Mr. Hunt advised her to stay inside the cave, but Abigail watched the lights until they disappeared into darkness.
* * *
Abigail muttered something softly under her breath as she awoke. Mr. Hunt asked her to hurry up as she had slept late into the morning. She opened her eyes, but she still saw only black. The young girl rubbed her eyes and opened them again, but only saw shadows moving in darkness. Abigail cried out, rubbing her eyes harder. Mr. Hunt asked what was wrong and when Abigail explained that she couldn't see, Mr. Hunt lead her to the truck and drove her straight to the hospital.
Abigail was put under anestetics and brought into the emergency room for optical surgery. Hours later, Abigail awoke with patches over both her eyes. "Somehow, a small layer on the back of your eyes had torn," the doctor explained, "When this layer, called the retina, detatches, the person sees flashing lights, and the illusion of fans or curtains over his or her eyes." When the doctor asked Abigail if she had experienced any of these symptoms, the girl began to cry. The last thing young Abigail Thorne had ever seen was the white Alaskan snow and the dark, empty sky.
Cynthia Smallwood
Here is a picture of the Northern Lights:
Here is a picture of what one might see when their retina detaches:
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