Blue strobe

“You will feel a funny feeling in your tummy, like you are falling down. It's normal, you are not falling down. After that, there will be a kind of bump when the plane hits the ground. Your body will be pulled forward as the pilot will break sharply to reduce the speed”

The conversation with the lady before they boarded was all the girl could think of as the landing happened. It helped her keep calm. Sahar was happy the lady noticed she was nervous. Her description of all that would happen made things easier. Sahar knew that helped her mother too, they both have never been in an aeroplane before. They had never left their village until a few months ago.

Sahar looked outside, it was dark. She looked at her mum. There it was, the distant look again.

“It's ok darling” her mum said, running her hand from the top of Sahar's head to her shoulder.

“Mother, look! There is a van with a Blue Strobe driving next to us.”

Her mum leaned towards the window and said quietly

“It could be for us… It says Immigration Enforcement”

Sahar looked around the cabin one more time. There was no one else dressed like them. Everyone was quiet and waiting as the plane moved slowly forward. In that moment she had a feeling that even though they were all so different they were all the same. Waiting to arrive so that they could continue their lives. She wondered though, would anyone also not know how the rest of their life would be from this moment?