Sunday 7 October 2007

Far above the clouds

A plane travelling to somewhere. Outside, the air is around -70 ºC. Althought I´m comfortably seated looking through the window, I can feel the cold by touching the glass. When I realise that I have never experimented such a low temperature, I say to myself that it will be better to avoid it. (Today, I´m not carrying my cup and winter gloves!)

I´m getting bored, and I have to be still one more hour inside. If I could sleep, I would, so time´d get evaporated, the plane´d arrive and I would be happy. But today, a little one year girl, doesn´t want to get asleep. She is very curious, and looks at me constantly. I tried reading a newspaper, and she wanted too. I suppose that she must be some kind of genious, because althought she didn´t speak, she seemed to be reading it!

I was thinking about that, when the mother asked me to take care of her while she went to the bathroom. Ok, I said. (Without having a remote idea that a storm was near.) I picked her in my arms, but at the moment the baby realised that her mother had left, and started to cry.

She wasn´t heard by the pilot, but the rest of the passengers did. She thought that mom had vanished, and feared not to see her again.

I did my best to stop her crying. At first, I explained her that mummy wasn´t lost. Then, I rocked her. After that, improvised a song. But my efforts had no reward. She continued shouting more and more loudly. And finally, after five endless minutes, mom came back, picked her, and calmly, she said:
And the man in the rain picked up his bag of secrets, and journeyed up the mountainside, far above the clouds, and nothing was ever heard from him again, except for the sound of Tubular Bells."
Mike Oldfield - Far above the clouds.

And the little girl (and I), felt asleep.