by Terri Dixon
I made it to the plane. I was sitting in my seat way in the back in the cheap seats, looking out the window at all the activity on the tarmac. I got the ring that grandma gave me out of my purse and put it on. I looked at it. It was unusual and old and pretty. What I didn’t understand was what the big deal was about it. Why would my mom get so nuts over a ring? I lived in grandma’s house surrounded by Russian books, dishes, Samovars, and all kinds of stuff. That didn’t bother her. All that bothered her was the stupid ring. I couldn’t wait to get to Moscow and check the thing out. Maybe once I researched where it actually came from I would understand why my mom hated the thing so much.
The plane taxied to the runway, and that was fine. The attendants gave the speech about safety and what to do in a crash. Hoped I didn’t need that information. That was the day that my life was going to change. It was my first flight, going on my first adventure on my first time out of the country as well as overseas, with my new best friend that I hadn’t actually met face to face yet. I was going to the largest country in the world to study their history on their land in their way at their university. What could go wrong?
I nearly puked my guts out when that plane took off. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.