“If you or your little girl need anything at all during this flight, Sergeant, you just press that call button,” Sarah said gently. “It is a true privilege to fly with you today.”
“Thank you,” I replied, my voice catching. For the first time since Elena’s funeral, the weight in my chest felt lighter, as if someone shared it.
The engines hummed through the fuselage as the plane pushed back. Maya pressed her face to the window, fogging the glass.
“Look, Daddy! The ground is moving away,” she gasped, pointing down at the tarmac. “We’re really flying to the beach! Mama’s beach! Do you think she can see us from the clouds?”
“I know she can,” I said, resting my hand over hers on the armrest. “She’s been watching us every single day, Maya. And she’s very proud of how brave you’ve been this morning.”
The plane gathered speed along the runway, a surge of power lifting us smoothly into the gray morning sky. We climbed through clouds into golden sunlight.
