I heard some people screaming as I looked for my phone to call for help but I realised everyone else was doing the same. I looked down at the plane and I remembered why I was there. I checked my watch; it read 12:35. Oh God! Oh God! I was screaming in my head, Bill’s plane was due to land at 12:40. It dawned on me that this could be his plane. I heard some sirens and turned around to see a rush of fire engines and ambulances heading towards the wreckage. Lots of questions were going through my head;
Was this a terrorist attack? Was anybody hurt? Did anybody die? What had happened to the plane and why did it crash? Was Bill ok? I desperately needed to speak to him.
All these questions were making me feel so dizzy. I suddenly felt really hot and realised I was shaking uncontrollably. Gradually the blackness closed in on me and I could remember nothing more.
When I woke up I was confused and disorientated. I looked round and took in my surroundings and it all came flooding back to me. There was a man who was bending down next to me checking for a pulse. When they saw that I had woken up a few people sighed with relief. The man bending down then said,
“My name is Dr. Smith, could you tell me what your name is please?”
I realised that I was lying down and a small crowd had gathered around me.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It looks like you’ve fainted. I’m confident it’s nothing serious, but I will advise you to go to hospital. We’ll try to get you there as soon as possible, but it could be a while. All of the ambulances are in the airport checking the major damage, but I’m sure they’ll take care of you as well!”
In my head I was thinking I didn’t mean me! I meant the plane crash and more importantly, Bill.
“What happened? To the plane, I mean”
“I’m not too sure but all we can do is hope for the best.”
He put his arm around my shoulders to reassure me as he helped me up into my car.
“Somebody has called for an ambulance so they should be on their way. Could you please tell us your name?”
“It’s Catherine Jones, look you don’t understand, I think my husband was on that plane!”
“Have you tried to call him?”
The thought hit me, and I quickly grabbed someone’s phone. I frantically punched in his number, pressed the phone to my ear and waited.
I waited for what seemed like hours, but breathed a sigh of relief when I heard a voice. The feeling of relief didn’t last long when I suddenly realised that it was a lady’s voice, not my husband’s, telling me that his phone was switched off.
Nearby, I could hear a loud, rasping sound. Something was tickling my cheek. I raised my hand to my face and looked down. My hand was covered in tears. I realised that the sound was emanating from the back of my throat. It was me! I was crying in desperation. If his phone was switched off that means that he might have been killed in the plane crash. I couldn’t help thinking the worst. I tried my hardest to be rational and think of other possible reasons why he wasn’t answering his phone.
His plane could have been delayed and maybe they were still flying back. Or maybe his phone was out of battery.
But as hard as I tried to ignore it, my first thought kept on creeping back in to my mind. I could see that there would be no use in me sitting here thinking about these terrible ‘what-ifs’. I looked up to find the crowd had dispersed, and were now looking over at the wreckage of the crashed plane. I decided to be strong, and got up into the car and started the engine. The doctor checked me once more to make sure I was able to drive.
I started to make my way towards the airport. As I was still shaking uncontrollably I felt a little nervous about driving, but instinct soon took over and I carried on urging myself to think positively. I soon saw the entrance to the airport and parked near it, almost unaware of all the police cars and ambulances racing around. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. As soon as I got out, the noise of all the sirens startled me and not thinking about parking tickets, I rushed towards the entrance. When I got inside there was a lot of commotion about the plane crash. I saw hundreds of police officers scattered around. A few of them were carrying guns which frightened me a bit. Was this really a terrorist attack? Could there be more attacks? Was the worst yet to come? The symptoms from the earlier incident started to come back. My continuous questioning made the dizziness return. I decided to find somewhere quiet to sit down before I passed out again. When my head started to feel better I rooted around in my bag and pulled out my phone. I feebly typed in his number and held the phone close to my ear. I didn’t think that he would answer. Thinking there was no use I was about to hang up when the ringing stopped. I waited for a couple of seconds then called out
“Bill?”
“Are you there? Can you hear me?” I couldn’t believe it. It was his voice. He sounded okay. But I just wanted to make sure.
“Are you alright? What happened? Why was your phone switched off before?”
“Yes, yes I’m fine! Calm down! My plane had been delayed because of the crash. We had to circle the airport a couple of times. I switched my phone on as soon as we got off. I’m fine.”
“Where are you? I’ve been out of my mind with worry”
I could feel the relief rushing through me. My heart felt warm again.
“I’m fine. I’m just at baggage reclaim. I’ll meet you at the arrivals gate in five minutes.”
I was already up on my feet making my way as fast as I could towards the arrivals gate, still with my phone to my ear.
“Okay, I’ll see you there. I love you.”
“Love you too,” and then the phone line went dead.
Minutes later I was standing at the arrivals gate amongst the crowd of people waiting for loved ones. I was on the verge of tears but I tried to hold them back. Another group of tired looking travellers walked through the gate. I searched for his face but to no avail. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of him looking as tired as all the rest of the travellers. I felt the tears break free and start to roll down my cheeks. This time I was crying with joy and relief. I pushed my way through the streams of people, to something I couldn’t wait to put my arms around him and not ever let him go. In days, weeks or months to come I would still remember this day and that I was there when the plane crashed.
