All In Mid-August

by Nunzia Castaldo

  ***

  Trizia at the Airport

  Aug. 9, 15:00

  Trizia arrived at the airport. The small plane was standing in the yard of the boarding gate. Heat and humidity veiled everything in yellow graying. The sun, the sky behind a vapor without wind, struck the ground; beyond the curtain of sultriness, the runway was piping hot and repellent as the stagnation of water in a channel. At the boarding ramp, the representative of the agency, flushed, ticked the tourists who came on board.

  Trizia was sweating as he waited among the many passengers. They were seventy grouped and massed on the steps. They pushed, they waved with any object they had in hand. People loading, overhung by bulging suitcases and duffel bags, worked quietly at the back door, and appeared indifferent to the chaos around them, climate sticky and suffocating odor.

  Trizia defended by a woman in tight skirt and suit jacket that did not respect the line. "No, I have before, please!" Then she went into the middle lane to the elbows wide and well planted on the legs that appeared gown in flax rust-colored. With rhythmic steps, into the mules' nylon raw and crocodile print leather, the muffled sound of Italian leather soles pounding the carpeted, surrounded by the smell of advanced textile products. She sat in the seventh row, next to the window under the right wing. She exhaled deeply. Finally she was at the start. She licked his lips dried, and voltage. She moved his smooth hair with a flick passing his fingers through his hair marched fringe on the forehead. She was determined to enjoy the holiday away.

  The practice of Trombley not hampered. She did not like entirely detached from work, even on vacation. With the cluttered mind of acts, she clutches her briefcase computer. She was not sure of abandoning it in the compartment at the top, so put it down on her thighs and looked out. Some passengers were climbing aboard elbowing. She said: rampant disrespect and bad manners. Now, however, was interested in the young man who was standing next to his seat.

  He was wearing green and white tennis shoes, jeans and a green polo. Take a look and had already cataloged: the polo shirt was an imitation, the skin shown by the short sleeves, had a nice tan, definitely natural. The man was holding a bag on his shoulder and defiant expression on his face. He pulled out his ticket booking.

  She checked. He said, " This place is my" shaking his head back and pushing the long hair from his forehead beaded with sweat. After picked up the cabinet, the bulky hand luggage stuffed it inside and hit the door. When he dropped it on the seat, bouncing her back, she lost patience at all.

  "Listen, I do not fall on your head huh?" He drew the inside of the wrist to the nostrils and sniffed at what was left of perfume essence of cyclamen. "Oh, indeed, ma'am is light." The man was not impressed by his aggressive tone, often, women do so with him. "Look at that guy had to happen to me," mused Trizia. The beginning of the journey did not adhere to the setting relaxing holiday by the promise. Now she wanted to use the space they deserved. "I hope that there is still room." The young man used to be under the impatience of the other. Although he was active, he was a gym instructor, but he knew as well take life easy. "Madam, do not worry, with a nudge the place is." He chanted the words and gestures noted in open palms. "Oh, the little pushes." Trizia spoke softly, but he did not hide the disorder suffered. The attorney settled the case in the glove box at the top, then, as she sat, his eyes fell on the black hair of the young man. Envied for his thick glossy hair, her hair was thin and fragile.

  He looked out the porthole to the wing of the plane. It was his reference point, put them tranquility and balance. He remembered chew gum. Left eardrum ached, in flight. She had suffered from ear infections as a child, she had left a scar. She chewed with his mouth shut and looked around. She turned his head back. "The plane is small, it will be safe?" A man in the front seat picked up the comment. "And so he never traveled aboard a small plane?" He spoke sarcastically.

  "Not really." Trizia said. Small appliances did not like too much, at the mercy of the currents. However, even the power of the winds, passed over the most powerful of the engines. The reflection is not assured. By plane was always nervous, but controlled. She is entrusted with admiration wonderful invention that the carrying everywhere. Flying fascinated and excited her.

  "Now that I think about it I do not feel very quiet, are not certain to go." The traveler was curious. Many travel facts had never heard anyone, already climbed on board, questioning the decision to leave. "Well, he's right." "What does it say?" She spoke in a shrill voice. "Yes, I think we should worry a little." Passengers raised the tone. "Excuse me, how do you say it?" She was alarmed.

  "I travel a lot." The visitor rose from his seat to see three-quarters. She felt the terror that had aroused in her, and a little ' we enjoyed. "Allow we have not presented: Marco Mattioli, financial ombudsman." He turned with a smile of perfect teeth but partly rebuilt and stretched out his hand over the headrest. She gave a quick weak grip which reserved to those who did not know. "Stanzani, I am." She is waiting, for an excuse. "So, let me get this courage". Marco trusts perceptions, which are received by a handshake." Quite cold in the tourist," he thought, but he continued with his usual tone gently persuasive salesman. " I travel a lot , not just for work ; I lost a lot of time due to mechanical problems of these aircraft , the last that happened to me , I was in the airport for hours and no one has explained why ; and landing : a moment in the air and the one after it touches the runway , it makes a noise and vibrates so much that seems to fall apart . "

  "What he says bother me, but it continues to use them?" Question Trizia. "Well, actually, I would say that I did not choose this flight" was forced to interrupt the conversation. The back door swung open, hissing. Air full of smoke and noises surrounded them. An ambulance came to speed the loading ramp. Writhed on the seats to be able to see what was happening behind them. A woman sitting in a wheelchair, crutches in hand and shoulder bag, was brought on board. Then the door closed.

  Marco out of habit not leaves things half. "I'm going on vacation at the last minute, with a discount of waiting lists." He had to show his ability to take advantage of the best deals, but the roar of the engines, brought to full power, drowned out all conversation.

  The word ' fasten seatbelt ' led passengers to await takeoff. Trizia pulled up and tied the belt been crushed beneath her. She chewed the gum nervously. She did not want to feel the eardrum drilled by a pain like tooth decay. She was excited and a shiver of fear ran along the back. With hands clenched the arms of his chair, feeling the vibrations transmitted to the seats of the cockpit shaking. Her hands trembled more. Then there was silence. The engines went out, the passengers fell silent and judgments are suspended.

  The hostess who instructed them to the emergency, he remained with his index finger pointed towards the emergency exit. They all had the same question. She always followed every movement as if he was piloting this arrest and sudden do not put some in a good mood. The take-off was one of the most dangerous phases. His knowledge is added up to the words just heard and stirred tremendously.

  She jumped when the amplified voice of the commander came out from the speakers: "We apologize to the mishap, but for your added security, given the pressure of adverse weather, the aircraft fully loaded, air traffic intense, we are preparing to partially drain the tanks; the departure is delayed for a few minutes; passengers stay put in their seats." She stiffened in his chair. She lever on rationality and focused on the words of the commander. If you had to travel by plane, it was summer. She felt calmer, less risk of turbulence, stable weather, visibility. Of course his insecurity kept her hidden from friends and acquaintances. She must always appear in control of herself. "The weather was changing for real?" Words escaped her mouth.

  He also thought to Carla and all the times that filled her head with ecological considerations. She claimed that deforestation, industrial development, the building expansion; intensification of traffic transport had raised the dust in the air, that environmental pollution had reached alarm levels, which would
soon become a deadly cocktail. She was catastrophic. Trizia recognized that the air was becoming unbearable and the heat stagnated for weeks from the hills to the plains. The commander began to explain. "You will have a technical stop at the Rome airport to stock up again." She felt reassured and calmed down. She remembered to have a traveling companion to his left. He was aware of his state of anxiety? She looked at him. With earplugs, he had stopped listening to music and moving her fingers to the beat on the metal cover of the ashtray. The croissant golden pendant bracelet jingled to the beat of the pulse.

  She picked up the pamphlet from his pocket and pretended to consult the backrest. Meanwhile, she reflected. It was not serious when he lost control of the situation for a while '. She did not care what she might think that her young traveling companion. Do not let it go easily on ratings precipitous, but the way she irritated. "Lacks style," You said. She hated the rudeness and insensitivity. She liked men of style. Duilio was a man of refined manners and elegant. The Financial Ombudsman reminded him: so polite and good speaker. Seemed boring but, perhaps, more than Duilio, which had wanted a divorce. And then, as he threw his evil influence on flights? No, I was exaggerating. Did not believe in bad luck, just the one that is procured each, with their own hands. Thought to himself, and while the other passengers were complaining. The maneuver would have resulted in a delay to the holiday.

  Just then a shrill woman's voice hit her. "I cannot just stay here the whole holiday, that exaggeration, postpone the departure for the heat; we leave?" She believed tolerant, but could not stand the blatant stupidity. She sharpened the eyes, and the phrase book. Then he burst out like an indictment. "Shut up, he wants her to go to the other world her leave?" For a moment there was silence, all they had heard and seemed to reflect.

  It was not the first time that she was among impatient people, the airport had already happened in Jakarta, Indonesia. It struck a violent storm. The shipment was delayed for several hours. The lightning tore the sky, the track was flooded, and the rain and the wind shook the windows of the waiting room. The mood attacked the passengers. They insisted in a compact row and pushed for boarding and leaving. You would have also expected the next sunrise while flying form. She did not. The plane lifted from the runway between streams of water and pointed in the direction of the arrows.

  She appreciated life and its inestimable value. Time and money were no compelling reasons to risk losing it. She would never agree to go in such conditions. Finally, the plane began taxiing. It was surrounded by the deafening noise of the engines and the air jet on the head. The young man turned off the recorder, with a flick off the headphones from your ears. He slid his gaze absently on her and then over the door.

  Trizia flattened on the back covering with hand the slice of the chest outside the neckline. She looked out. Meanwhile, the aircraft moved as dropped from a giant slingshot invisible. He feared only an instant. The aircraft also lightened struggled to rise. The plane reached the quota, and then began a sharp right turn; she looked under the ring road adjacent to the motorway stretch along the plain.

  It was jammed packed car in the infernal traffic jam. "Do not be in any case there is a privilege," She considered satisfied. His movements were always comfortable. The tension broke and she let herself be carried away by memories milder. She remembered the first flight. This time the plane lifted light as a dragonfly and flew over the plain. Below he saw the expanse of fields geometrically worked long and irrigation canals. The urban centers were reduced and dispersed on the Via Emilia and industrial areas were well focused. Everything seemed harmless and even the agreeable ornament to his enthusiasm for the girl already soaring roar of the engines and the acceleration on the track.

  Over time, she had lost enthusiasm. Tourism involving sincerely do not like in the past, and the summer was not clear and livable as it was then. Maybe Carla was right. Now it seemed that the relentless changes had taken place not only in his life and in society, but in the entire cosmos.

  Carla, never missed an opportunity to say that the development of production, as a tool for the man, he had become her gag. She was convinced that the human race was in danger of self-destruction. She began to fidget exposing anthropological concepts. The knowledge of other cultures should foster a better, more just, instead had been used to increase the exploitation of people and resources. There was no attention to the weak and the cultures were depleted of their peculiarities. In short, the disquisitions of Carla were played indoctrination, but he avoided to get in on the discussion and often let her vent feigning attention, but his stinging words were in the ears the same.

  In any case, there was no room in his life for the dream or gratuity. Did not even have time to stop and reflect. None of the rest of society could choose to stop or retreat of. She breathed with closed lips. Oriented face to the air nozzle. The friend was exaggerating. She was not to give much listening. She grew impatient. The bad habit of not always reflect never abandoned her, even during his well-deserved vacation.

  She breathed deeper. She filled his lungs with oxygen, and the mind of hope for the future. Now the plane veered to the side of the airport, to the left, towards the south. On the horizon a trail yellowish accompanied him. In the cockpit, the cold air rarefied goes on his shoulders. She raised the collar of his dress. The voice of the commander turned away from his thoughts. "The technical stop will take us to the Rome airport after a delay of about twenty minutes, it is expected to arrive in about three hours, I remind you to remain seated and keep fasten your seat belts, bon voyage."