Everybody was running. It sounds pretty cliche if you ask me. From the stoic businessmen in their pristine suit and ties, hauling their luggage like they know exactly where they’re going, to the various families with little children, their parents hauling them by their arms while they wail, and struggling to haul multiple bags while looking lost in the chaos. I felt it too. With my little brother Dax behind me gripping my pointer finger like a lifeline, and my Grandpa George barking inquisitions at a very puzzled plane attendant, it was very easy to feel overwhelmed by it all.

As I tried to make my breathing slow, my phone started to chime. Pulling it out of my hoodie pocket, I saw it was from my older sister, Adalyn. “Where are you guys? We are waiting at the gate!” I could practically hear her panic and impatience. I tapped her profile picture, one taken of the two of us on the beach last summer, and clicked call.

A beat later, she answered with a “You’d better not be getting food right now!”

“Really, Ady?” I mocked incredulously. “You know I have noticed there’s a national panic and although I’d love a good Starbucks herbal tea to calm my nerves right about now, I like to think I value the prospect of living over overpriced spice water!” I countered her, mildly annoyed. However, she lost it at the end of my statement, laughing her head off like she always did when she pushed my buttons.

For what feels like an eternity, my sister has always teased me for ordering an herbal tea on the occasion her and her friends let me join them on their weekly Starbucks runs. But my herbal teas, or as my sister religiously called it, “overpriced spice water”, had a starring role in helping me manage my anxiety. Peppermint was my sustenance. Sugar and caffeine was Ady’s.

“Considering you conceded to calling it that, I know you must be really stressed. If you do decide to stop by a Starbucks, get me my usual!” I rolled my eyes at her antics. I couldn’t decide if her joking around was calming and familiar or driving me more mad. “In all seriousness, Mom’s trying to sweet talk the attendants into waiting for you, but I can’t say for sure if she’s winning. How far are you?”

I looked at Grandpa and the lady to see if an understanding was met, but it was hard to tell with the constant underlying fear in everyone’s faces. It made it hard to read all the other emotions.

A few weeks ago, massive destruction hit the country. Hurricanes in the south, fires in the west, and earthquakes along all the major fault lines. Not to mention, the threat of war that’s looming over our heads the last few month. Things were bad. And the state of our nation reflected in the pandemonium of the airport. It had been made known by our country’s leaders that airlines would be shutting down completely after today. Immediately after, Mom, and a million other people, jumped to get tickets before they were gone. We were lucky to have gotten enough for all five of us, as most flights ended up completely booked within minutes.

As far as I knew, we were headed to Minnesota to stay with Mom’s relatives for foreseeable future. I am really going to miss Texas, and the abrupt exit is leaving me without a proper goodbye.

Grandpa grabbed my wrist. “This way, darling.” I realized he was done asking for directions and I told Ady we were nearing our gate prior to hanging up. Dax still held me tight, silent as a mouse, as we ran after Grandpa. For an aging man, he really was quite nimble.

We moved along past hundreds of faces until our destination was finally in sight. I frowned. I couldn’t see Ady nor my mom. I ran even faster, scooping up Dax in my arms and banging and bouncing our luggage into the many obstacles. One look at Dax and I knew he’d probably want down. Grandpa reacted far calmer than me, moving to ask the man working nearby. “Are we in the right place?”

The man held out a hand to see our tickets. Unlike every other person I’d seen today, he looked greatly uninterested and wildly bored.

“Hmm,” he drawled, a little smug. “Flight 845. Yes, you just missed it.”