In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

He gently held the porcelain urn in his hands; it was small. He thought of how small her hands were in his; always with her large, blue, glassy eyes peering up. He knew this was the last time they would hold each other. He looked down at the vast expanse of the water through the window, unaware of the swirling wind and deafening roar of the helicopter. He gripped the decorative white and blue porcelain tightly, closing his eyes as they began to well with tears.


George thumbed through the paper - on his iPad, of course - getting butter smears all over an already smudged screen as he devoured toast and the morning news from the Boston Globe. He stopped and chewed his bread slowly, wiping crumbs and butter from the left side of his mouth. "Hey, hun?"

"What is it, George?" faintly heard from the sitting room down the hall.

"Hun, did Marj or your brother phone last night?"

"No. I'm in the middle of something here..."

George hesitated. "The BG reports Now City had a helicopter crash about 1 mile off the coast yesterday; two dead and one of the pilots in critical care at JRI. You better call Marj or Danny to make sure everything's okay. I'm sure Marj would have called if something was wrong."

Silence rang out from the sitting room.

After staring at the photos of wreckage for a moment, George remarked: "I'll just go ahead and call to see what they know."


Inspired by: "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" - Neutral Milk Hotel