The Forgotten Memory
By: Tammi Brownlee
Tags: Nonfiction, Short Story, This Happened To Me, Exulansis, Travel

The plane bounced around, swaying back and forth in the air. The pilot came on the speaker to announce they were experiencing some turbulence. Glancing at her boyfriend who was sound asleep, she contemplated waking him up. A familiar voice sounded in front of her. The woman from the waiting area was sitting in the next row, telling the man next to her about flying with her husband.

Kara tried to read the book she brought, but the woman talking reminded her of the first flight she ever took. Something she hadn’t thought of in a very long time. A memory buried deep in the back of her memory bank, tucked away and forgotten.

At ten years old, she had found herself waiting in a room for her flight from Phoenix to Boston. The tall lady with blonde hair, wearing too much makeup, told her she would be switching planes in St. Louis before heading to Boston. The woman told her to stay in the room, she would be back to get her when it was time to get on the plane.

She was traveling to stay with her father who had been living with his new girlfriend, a woman Kara had not met yet. Her father had already told her on the phone the girlfriend would be her new mom.

Nothing happened on the flight to St. Louis. The blonde lady handed her off to another lady for the second flight. This lady was mean, leaving her alone for the entire flight. When they landed in Boston, the woman escorted her to the baggage area, telling her to find her suitcase and wait for her father to meet her there.

Kara waited for her suitcase to come around on the carousel, the purple tag slightly ripped. Her name was written in black marker. Kara turned around and found an empty seat near the window. Sitting down, she waited for her father to arrive.

Soon she found herself alone, the passengers disappearing after finding their own luggage. But her father was nowhere to be found, still she sat there waiting as she had been told. A large group of people walked toward her as the carousel started turning again. Bags and suitcases falling out of the chute and spinning around slowly.

She began to wonder if her father had forgotten her; the night before he insisted he would be there to pick her up, even confirming her flight information with her aunt on the phone. Maybe he was lost or standing somewhere else. Standing up she looked up and down the area, but she couldn’t see him anywhere.

The second wave of people dispersed and Kara found herself alone again. It would take a few hours before anyone realized she was still hanging around the airport. The security guard asked her name and who she needed to call. She told them her name but that she wasn’t sure who to call.

After making a few phone calls, they reached someone who said they would be there shortly to pick her up. A short time later, a woman showed up in the room. She said she was Kara’s father’s girlfriend and she was going to bring Kara back to her place to wait for her father.

About four hours later, her father walked into the tiny apartment, slurring his words and swaying back and forth. His eyes red and oblivious to the fact that he had forgotten his ten year old daughter at the airport. Breaking yet another a promise in the short span of her life.