by Marion Dess
Passengers were mostly kind but treated it as an expensive bus ride entitled to all the accoutrements one would experience at a high class hotel. What is commonly forgotten is the fuel costs, landing fees, maintenance, ground and flight crew salaries, food and beverages, the pillows, free headphones, all add up to their measly ticket. They have no choice, what is a faster way to get where they're going? Lucia, however, didn't care for the specifics or the complaints. She longed dreamed of space tourism. To be a flight attendant aboard a spaceship, to her was by all means and quite the cliche, out of this world. She wanted to look out the windows and see the shiny liquid darkness of outer space. The spray of glittering stars across the skies was more profound high up in the atmosphere than it was on the ground in even the clearest of nights. Below her, with these thoughts, she could feel the floor drop out at times and had to sit down when she thought too hard about their vulnerability so high up.
Miki laid her head back and decided to let sleep slowly descend upon her but after some time with her eyes closed, her stomach suddenly sank. It was a quick jolting sensation similar to the one felt when she was already on the train moving quickly away from her house and she didn't check whether or not she had turned the gas off or if the candle on the side table was blown out. Her chest expanded with great effort. She couldn't breathe. She took a sip of wine but the bitterness went metallic on her tongue.
Her realization was this: she was on a plane going to a place she'd never been but had only dreamed of. She had spent a solid amount of unconscious time there. She wasn't so much frightened by this new experience or the fact that she knew nothing of the Spanish language nor Argentine or Uruguayan culture. She felt secure in the sincerity of her dreams. They had been real enough that she knew what the fog looked like when it rolled over the harbor at Colonia and see the boats and she could hear the sound of their bells at the tops of their masts. In her dreams she stood on cobbled alleys that once held Spanish minutemen. She had seen people sitting at tables under big yellow umbrellas eating chivito, a gigantic steak sandwich heaped with pickled veggies, potato salad and bread. She could even smell the smoke wafting over the restaurant from the parilla where meat, crucified on metal stakes, slowly cooked over a smouldering fire.
What punched her in the stomach was more of the sensation of not caring that she was not in control of her life. On this plane she had no time to grab a life vest before jumping into the ocean with the horizon the same on all sides. "No sight of land," she thought. "My life is just like that. I am in somewhere deep and I'm not prepared, just treading water, waiting for the exhaustion to sink into my limbs and slowly drag me down to the depths of something unknowable and unchangeable." These thoughts didn't frighten her but actually soothed her like someone who has made up their mind to commit suicide, she began to feel light and carefree. "It'll all be over soon," she thought and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The calico had unlatched the carrier with its paw in one deft movement and slinked out the side. He trotted down the aisle and back again to stretch his legs and get his blood flowing. For a cat there was something peculiar about him. A young child returning from the bathroom saw the calico trotting by and turned to his mother to show her. A cat running freely on an airplane tickled the boy. His mother soundlessly asleep mumbled incoherently. The boy yanked on her arm. She refused to wake up so he looked down the aisle for the cat, but it was gone. He felt a wisp of something light on his ear and turned his head. The calico had perched himself on the top of the seat. The boy turned around in a fright but then giggled and stroked the calico cat as he meandered down the arm of the chair his lap. The calico took great pleasure in being stroked by the boy and purred generously. He closed his eyes, and while stroking the cat he thought of the scene of Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man all falling asleep in a field of brightly colored poppies. It was an old movie but one of his favorites. He especially loved that it was black and white and as soon as Dorothy landed in Munchkin Land, everything was swathed in brilliant color. The boy wondered why more movies weren't made like The Wizard of Oz. He felt an itch on his foot so with his eyes still closed and cat in his lap, he bent over to scratch through his socks. That is all he remembered before waking up in Buenos Aires.
Lucia saw that Miki had finally woken up with the jolt of the plane bouncing on the runway at Ezeiza International Airport outside of Capital Federal. She looked down to see if the cat was in his carrier. His back was to the front of the crate. The plane landed with such force that she had a headache from the pressure of the landing. The passengers clapped for having completed a safe journey, a selective feature of some long distance flights Lucia noticed. The clap was more of a thank-god-it's-over, and we're not miles above sea level anymore. Miki rubbed her eyes. Lucia walked by Miki and asked some children to remain seated until they had taxied to the gate. The kids instantly sat down.
Lucia had a way of getting children to follow directions on their own accord, not out of fear. Very few flight attendants had this skill. She spoke with authority in a non-cumbersome way but more of a I'm going to let you in on a secret. The kids thought they had tricked their parents and that Lucia was in some sort of conspiracy with them. They buckled up and folded their hands on their laps. Lucia smiled and ruffled the hair of one of the boys who hadn't gotten up and was still buckled. He didn't smile or laugh. He sat stone still in his seat. Lucia thought he had just woken up or was overtired from such a long flight. She took one last look at the boy's vacant face and headed back towards where Miki sat.
"How are you feeling?" Lucia asked. "Alright I guess." Miki said.
"Ok good. I was worried about you. After our little talk you went right to sleep and didn't even wake up on the descent. Most people don't sleep through the landing."
"I had a strange dream again. There was a fire in the future and this future fire wasn't all what we thought it to be. It was a fire that burned bright without actually disintegrating anything. The flames licked the sides of the buildings but there wasn't any smoke or ashes. People were jumping from buildings but it seemed as though they never landed." Miki looked down at her knees.
"Wow. You have quite the imagination."
Lucia had warmed to Miki. She wasn't in the least bit disturbed by her. She wanted to be disgusted in Miki, afterall she had seen her cat sucking on her nipple while she was asleep. But Miki had an aura that enveloped her and now with the lights on in the plane she looked like a real person with bright eyes. She felt she had known Miki with a certain clarity that comes when friendship falls into place naturally. She rubbed Miki on the shoulder and looked down at the carrier where the calico cat was staring up at her again with big wet eyes. This time, he looked like a normal cat and she felt sympathy for him.
"I hope you enjoy Colonia, and if you have some time, come back to Buenos Aires for a nice glass of Malbec." Lucia reached into her pocket and handed Miki a napkin with her number on it. She hardly had any self control in this action. She remembered writing it down and putting it in her dress pocket to later give to Miki upon arrival. She didn't know why she did it but she felt an urge to keep in contact with her. There was something going on inside Lucia, something she hadn't felt in a long time, like a void that had been filled. She couldn't imagine what it had been like to feel so empty and alone, no matter how hard she tried to recreate the sensation. When Lucia met Miki, the void ceased and no matter how hard she tried to feel it, she couldn't feel the vacuum anymore. She felt full but light.
Miki took the napkin and stared at the handwriting. It was beautiful, light and curvaceous. +54 9 345 7762 Lucia Milagros Blanco "Lu"
"Lu." Miki confirmed.
"Yes, you'll learn, us Argentines don't like names of more than one syllable. So you can call me Lu. It's easier."
Miki smiled. "Thank you for this. I don't have a proper phone but I am sure I can use the hotel's to give you a shout when I am finished with business in Uruguay."
"Sounds good. H
ave a good trip." Lucia smiled and walked away. Miki thought to give her something, but what, she didn't know. She only had her carry on. She turned in her seat and watched Lucia disappear into the hoard of passengers ready to deplane.
It was at this time everyone seemed to get claustrophobic. All civility was lost.
Everyone, as soon as the wheels hit the tarmac, had enough of being cooped up with one another. Lucia watched Miki sit still for a long while until she was able to get out of her seat with the carrier and grab her carry-on from above her. Miki made her way towards the plane door, thanked the crew and then walked up the corridor to the inside of the gate. It was dim as she made her way through to Customs.
"Hello. Welcome to Argentina. What is the purpose of your visit?" A handsome officer with the name tag "Franco" asked Miki.
"Vacation."
"I don't see a return flight." '"I will leave from Uruguay."
"Do you have that ticket?" asked the officer. "Not yet. I am not sure how long I'd like to stay." "You have 90 days, Ma'm." He stared at her. "Ok."
"I need to see a return flight."
"I'm sorry. I didn't buy one yet. I wasn't sure how long I'd stay." "Well, ma'm I can't let you pass unless I see a return flight."
Miki's mind began to race. She hadn't thought about returning at all until now.
She stepped to the side accidentally kicking the carrier. The calico cat hissed. "Is that a cat, Ma'm?" The officer asked.
"Yes." said Miki, quite distracted now with her thoughts. "You brought your cat on vacation?" Franco asked…
"Yes sir, there was no one to watch him."
"No one." He didn't so much as ask a question but repeated her statement in disbelief.
"Look, I'm sorry. I am here on vacation. I've looked forward to this for some time. Is there anything you can do?"
"Well, now you are entering with an animal that might need to be quarantined. I need to see your form 7001 Vet Health Certificate and vaccination records."
Miki opened her carry-on and took out an orange envelope and produced the forms the officers asked for. He looked over them carefully then turned to a serious looking officer now standing behind him. They spoke in Spanish quietly for some time then Franco turned towards her and smiled.
"That will be $300 Ma'm."
"$300?" Miki repeated, not sure what he was saying.
"Yes, to enter, you must pay a $300 tax. It is good for ten years. You have 90 days to visit and you must leave the country for a minimum of four hours to return and receive another 90 day tourist visa."
"$300 tax?" Miki mumbled to herself. She hadn't thought she'd need to fork over such an amount of cash. She only brought $1,000 and had already changed some of it to Argentine pesos.
"Don't you mean 300 pesos?" She asked. "Dollars," the officer said curtly.
She reached into her waistband where her money belt was securely fastened around her waist and produced three crisp one hundred dollar bills and slid them under the glass to the smiling officer. He smiled and typed something into his computer and returned her documents. He then printed a simple barcode on a large white sticker and pasted it on one of the pages in her passport. He pocketed two of the bills and put one in the register after he returned her passport to her through the slit in the glass.
"Welcome to Argentina." He looked past her and shouted "Sir! Behind the line!
Behind the RED line!"
Miki put away her documents, picked up the carrier and rolled her carry-on towards the baggage claim. She thought about calling Lucia to ask about the expensive tax but didn't have a proper SIM card. She dug through her pockets and bag but the napkin with Lucia's phone number was nowhere to be found. She must have lost it in the rush to get off the plane. Though she had no baggage, she stood for a few minutes watching the conveyor belt wrench on and slowly tum itself, squeaking along the way.
She, herself wrenched inside as if she were composed of the same sheets of rusty steel trying to gradually move each load. Each thought was a heavy suitcase placed upon her and she struggled all the more to build up any sort of momentum. Her knees felt like jelly. It was best to get to the ferry before the last departure of the day. Now, the carrier seemed too light. The weightlessness of the carrier surprised her. She looked inside it and the little door swung open. There was no sign of the cat. She stumbled around the baggage claim; looking under everything and moving people's luggage. She thought she saw a tail slip through the legs of a woman ahead of her. She bumped into a couple and fell. They helped her up. It had been the men that sat beside her on the way to Buenos Aires. They looked at her with contempt, brushed themselves off and continued waiting for their luggage to come through the rubber curtain that separated the underworld of airline travel with its commercial polished floor side.
A white flash went through the rubber flaps all too similar to a cat tail. She couldn't call him, he never took heed of her voice. This cat wasn't hers; it accompanied her. She knew she couldn't live without him, had it been another life and if it been born human, or she a cat, they would have been soul mates. It wasn't romantic in the least bit but she felt open and complete when the cat came into her life. Since then, every time he disappeared she felt as though drowning in a sensory deprivation tank would be a kinder death.
She was in uncharted territory now and to climb through the rubber flaps would not be tolerated, much less going against the flow of the conveyor belt she wasn't willing to even try so she sat down on the cold marble tiles of the baggage claim and wept. A woman rushed towards her and put her hand on her back.
"Que paso? Tranquila, tranquila. Relajate ."
She sobbed and felt the cold floor beneath her seeping into her thighs and calves.
She was here because of the cat. How could she explain that the only reason she had gotten on and off a plane thousands of miles away was for the damn cat. A cat she hadn't adopted nor fully understood but just felt wholly dependent on as if he were her right arm and she had just lost it. She smelled a familiar smell. It was the perfume of Lucia. She opened her eyes and saw Lucia, was crouched in front of her in her patent blue pumps and navy pantyhose sticking out from under her navy dress. Miki was relieved to see her since losing her number..The color strangely calmed Miki and Lucia's smell splashed over her like a rock taking an incoming wave. She felt strength entering her again.
"Are you alright Miki?"
"No, I'm not." Miki said blowing her nose into a handkerchief Lucia handed her.
It was cream colored and had a lace border. She felt she defiled it with her snot but continued wiping her nose. It was soft with age. It had been used no doubt by Lucia's mother or even grandmother. She fiddled with it in her hands.
"He's gone. He ran off." Miki eeked out and then began to tear up. "Who's gone? The cat?" Lucia asked.
"Yeah, I don't know where, I thought I saw him go--"
"He's right here!" Lucia said surprised herself. The cat was purring and winding around her knees. She stood up and brushed off the few hairs that stayed on the hem of her dress. Miki glanced down.
"Where?"
"Here, in between my legs. You don't see him?" Lucia looked incredulously at
Miki.
"No! I don't see him. I can't see him!" Miki began to sob again.
Lucia smiled at the crowd of people that had now begun to join them. She said something in her Argentine castellano and they dispersed immediately. She had that kind authority of a mother. Do as I say, or else. She returned smiling at the group until it had fully dissipated. The exhausted passengers couldn't expend any more energy on a crying woman and became more concerned with getting their luggage and out of the airport.
Lucia looked down at the cat to make sure he was in fact there. She felt his soft fur on her ankles as he wound around her legs. She clearly heard his deep purr, why can't Miki see him? Perhaps she was tired with the strain of working a ten hour flight after many shifts in a row. All she wanted to do wa
s to take this shift so she could be home for some time to recuperate before flying out again. Now she was stuck in the baggage claim area with a Yanqui crying on the floor. She put her arm around Miki and hoisted her up. It wasn't easy but Miki felt some strength pouring into her as she felt Lucia's hand cup her armpit and grip the back of her arm to get up. She stood up and brushed herself off and handed Lucia her handkerchief back. Lucia put her hand up.
"Porfavor. You keep it."
Miki stuffed it into her pant's pocket and grabbed her luggage. She stared at the empty carrier then turned to Lucia. "You can see him now can't you?" She whispered to Lucia.
Lucia didn't have the faintest idea what Miki was talking about. Could it be that Miki really couldn't see that the calico cat was clearly winding between both of their legs.
"You really can't see him?" Lucia whispered back.
"No," said Miki, looking in Lucia's eyes. They were two clear pools oflight brown liquid. Miki generally hated women with beautiful features out of her own insecurity though she wasn't a bad looking woman. In fact men and women found her rather attractive. With Lucia, she felt as if her features were not used to obtain a nice life but rather assisted her hard work in providing herself a nice life. Plus, Miki knew Lucia saw her for who she was, just as the calico cat saw something in Miki. Lucia smiled and at the corners of her eyes and mouth were a few lines that smiled back. Miki knew Lucia now had taken charge of whatever was going on with that cat and there was nothing she could do but to try and convince her of the importance of the dreams, Lucia was now sure to experience.
Lucia stood there while Miki stared at the carrier. She decided to put the cat back into it for Miki. Even if Miki couldn't see him, he was clearly still there and she was in no position or mood to take a cat from a woman she had just met on a flight. Already, the relationship with this particular passenger was taxing and to get more involved would be of an even greater depletion of energy and time. Lucia had just worked her last shift before her vacation back home in Buenos Aires. She was looking forward to seeing her friends and family and eating home cooked meals, not caring for another tourist, let alone one that had breastfed her cat unconsciously.