It was a long weekend, and the family was getting ready to fly out of Dane County Regional Airport to visit Emily's grandparents in Port Jefferson, New York. Emily had never been on a plane in this universe, and the thought of flying brought a mix of excitement and anxiety. Daniel had always stressed about flights, often unable to sleep the night before due to the worry of missing the plane.
Emily, despite her best efforts, found herself wide awake the night before the trip. The clock seemed to tick loudly in the hallway, each second a reminder of the impending journey. Her mind raced with thoughts of packing and ensuring they left on time. When morning finally arrived, she was understandably tired and irritable.
As the family gathered in the living room, Sarah was busy getting everything together. Emily tried to help, but her adult-like suggestions caught her mother off guard.
"Shouldn't we double-check the boarding passes? Is my ID packed? Wait…do I even need ID?" Emily suggested channeling her inner Daniel, her tone a bit too authoritative for a child her age. Memories of Daniel fussing over something called a ‘RealID’ and his anxiety about forgetting it surfaced in her mind - apparently it had been quite a challenge to acquire one?
Sarah paused mid-action and turned to face Emily, her expression one of puzzled amusement. "ID? Boarding pass? Emily, how do you know about these things?" she asked, bemused by her daughter's unexpected knowledge. Shaking her head with a gentle smile, she added, "Don't worry, sweetie, we've got everything covered. Why don’t you pick out a book or a game for the plane instead?"
As time ticked away, the packing seemed to never end. Emily's anxiety mounted, and she felt increasingly frustrated at what seemed like a lack of urgency. "We are STILL packing? Doesn’t our flight take off soon? Mom, we need to go now - why do we need snacks for a flight can’t we just buy them at the airport or something? We won't have enough time to check in!" she insisted, as her voice octave increased a pitch in frustration.
Sarah, her temper rising, took a deep breath and tried to calm down her anxious daughter. ‘Emily - it is okay, I know what I am doing - I promise we have enough time to get on the plane.’ As her patience began to rapidly wane, a frustration crept into her tone. Clenching her teeth, she added in a moment of outward irritation, ‘Please… just stop shouting and go… do something… anything…’ she mentioned exacerbated.
Thoughts of Daniel rushing to catch business flights, e-check-in issues, memories of lost baggage, and being stranded due to missed transfers resonated with Emily. In a moment of frustration, she smacked the coffee table with her hand, a mix of Daniel’s adult urgency and a child’s tantrum. “NO, WE WON’T! WHY ARE WE SO DARN SLOW?”
Sarah stood up abruptly, her eyes flashing with anger for the first time that Emily could remember in this universe. "Emily Gwen Parker!" she said loudly, her voice firm, unusually sharp and unyielding.
Emily shrank back her anxiety replaced by pure unadulterated fear as she saw Sarah radiating anger with an intensity she was completely unfamiliar with. Emily couldn’t recall ever seeing her mother this irate, much less receiving a severe reprimand and instinctively, she took a few steps back, her heart pounding and adrenaline surging bracing for a confrontation she felt looming from the echoes of Daniel’s past. ‘Oh no…I’ve done it now..’ she thought with a gulp, feeling a familiar heaviness from Daniel’s memories forming deep within her.
"That’s enough," Sarah said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You will not talk to your mother so disrespectfully—this is absolutely unacceptable! Go stand in the corner and think about your behavior… move, now, missy!"
Emily was stunned and stood frozen in space. "You want me to do what?" she asked, bewildered, her mind struggling to process the emotional rollercoaster alongside the parental demand.
"Stand in the corner and think about your behavior," Sarah instructed again, her voice firm as she pointed decisively at the corner, her gaze unwavering.
Emily resisted, feeling an odd clash within her—a surge of indignation from deep within that felt too mature for her age. Sarah, noticing her hesitation, placed a firm yet gentle hand on Emily's shoulder, guiding her forward. Emily’s feet moved as if on their own, like someone being led to a firing squad, her movements dazed and mechanical. "Am I seriously getting a… a… timeout? This is absurd!" she muttered under her breath. Positioned in the corner, the walls felt like the boundaries of a prison cell.
"Wait here until I tell you otherwise," Sarah added sternly before turning back to her packing.
Standing there, the situation felt surreal to Emily. She felt small and powerless, her emotions whirling in a confusing mix, caught between a child's humiliation and an adult's indignation. To anyone else, the situation would have appeared to be a simple timeout - a child being disciplined for unruly behavior. However for Emily, the corner represented a confining cage as a storm of Daniel’s memories surged - a man used to steering meetings and negotiating contracts and complexities, now reduced to standing silently in a corner. ‘Is this really happening? Am I really being disciplined like a child when just moments ago I was thinking through logistics like an adult?’ she thought her mind reeling. A small sob escaped her, carrying the weight of her confusion and frustration, but also remorse for pushing her mother to this point, and fear for their future relationship.
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However, as she continued to stand seemingly trapped in the corner, Emily gradually felt an unexpected calm settle over her as thoughts that felt both alien and yet oddly familiar passed through her mind encouraging calm. 'Just breathe. It’s only a moment, and it will pass,' she thought to herself. These thoughts felt mature beyond her years, and appeared to rise spontaneously hugging her in a warm mental blanket, offering solace and perspective amidst her turmoil.
As the minutes ticked by, Emily’s thoughts transmuted to boredom. She examined the wall—there was little else to do—taking in the mundane details like chips in the paint and the trim’s intricate pattern, finding a strange solace in these trivialities. ‘This is stupidly ridiculous…I’m so freaking bored!" Emily muttered under her breath as her eyes studied the slight imperfections in the drywall contemplating them as if they were a gateway to some profound truth.
Her curiosity tempted her to turn around, to see if Sarah was still watching her. She shifted slightly, sneaking a glance over her shoulder, only to immediately meet Sarah’s firm gaze. 'Emily…did I say you can move from the corner?' came an immediate parental admonishment, causing Emily to rapidly snap her face forward again, her frustration mingling with resignation.
An amusing thought then crossed her mind: 'Well, looks like Dad’s been quiet - actually, he has mysteriously vanished hasn’t he? Probably dodging Mom’s potential wrath... Daniel would have done something similar. Good job, Dad, duck and cover…"
After some time had passed, Emily heard the footsteps of her mother approaching, triggering a wave of trepidation in anticipation of the impending conversation. Sarah reached her and gently turned Emily around but for Emily, the physical sensation of being pivoted towards her mother induced a tightness in her chest, like facing sentencing. She instinctively looked down, her eyes fixed on the ground, unable to meet her mother’s gaze.
"Emily, it’s important we talk about respect. You can’t speak to your parents like that, even when you're upset," she said, her tone serious yet caring. "Do you understand why it’s important to stay calm and respectful?"
Emily nodded, her eyes still transfixed on the ground, waves of guilt washing over her. In that moment, she was no longer burdened by adult memories or intelligence; she was simply a child, chastised and deeply remorseful about disappointing her mother. 'Yes, I’m sorry,' she murmured, her voice trembling slightly. 'I get so anxious about things... I don’t know why... but I know I was rude. I’m really sorry.’
As she stood there, her mind raced. Daniel had always been petrified that if people disagreed with him or quarreled with him, they automatically hated him. That fear was ingrained, a scar from years of isolation and misunderstanding. Now, as Emily, those fears felt even more pronounced, her child’s emotions amplifying the adult anxieties she carried within her.
"What if they’re really mad at me? What if they don’t love me anymore because I got upset?" Emily thought, her heart pounding. The fear of rejection gnawed at her, a familiar but no less terrifying sensation.
Sarah gently raised Emily's head to look at her, seeing the distress in her eyes and sensing her daughter’s internal struggle. Her heart softened as she realized how unnerved Emily was and how much guilt she carried. “It’s okay, Emily,” Sarah said reassuringly, straightening a strand of her daughter’s hair. ‘We’re a family, and we’ll get through this trip just fine. Remember, even when we’re upset or frustrated, it doesn’t mean we love you any less, okay? We all lose our temper sometimes, but that doesn’t change how much we care about each other, right?’
Upon hearing her mother’s reassurance, Emily felt a rush of emotions - relief flooding through her as tears welled, her frame shaking with soft sobs apologizing profusely. Sarah, initially startled by Emily's sudden outburst, quickly and instinctively drew Emily into a warm embrace. 'Oh, kiddo, it's okay to be upset. We all get overwhelmed, and that’s perfectly normal. We're your family, and nothing could change how much we love you.'
In that embrace, wrapped in her mother’s arms, Emily realized she wasn’t just a child or just an echo of Daniel—she was Emily, loved and secure. The fears of rejection and abandonment, memories of Daniel's lonely battles, began dissipating some as she realized that disagreements wouldn’t sever the bonds in her family. She was slowly learning that she could be herself, with all her flaws and trauma, and still be loved. This was after all a place where she was allowed to be vulnerable and yet embraced.
—
The drive to Dane County Regional Airport was smooth. The sight of the old-fashioned terminals and the bustling activity around them brought an odd sense of nostalgia to Emily, despite it being her first time there in this life. She couldn't help but notice how different flying was in this universe - there were no mobile check-ins, no TSA with its strict security protocols and endless queues, or the need for complex, convoluted identification. The check-in process was smoother, with paper tickets and friendly staff adding a human touch. Security was simple and welcoming, not the militaristic experience Daniel had known in his time, yet another reminder of how different yet simpler things were in this time.
As they boarded the plane, Emily noted the larger seats and the overall spaciousness compared to what Daniel remembered. "This is... comfortable," she thought, marveling at the legroom and the absence of the cramped feeling Daniel associated with air travel. A friendly flight attendant, much to Emily’s surprise, presented her with a lollipop shortly after boarding. ‘Eh…I’d have preferred chocolate..’ she thought as she devoured her sugary treat ‘but…I’ll take perks where I can get them!’
As they settled into their seats, she looked out the window, feeling a sense of excitement and yet some peace. The g-forces exerted by planes accelerating was a rare pleasure Daniel looked forward to during his business flights, and unsurprisingly, Emily had inherited the same feeling of exhilaration. The plane continued to climb, and she watched the world below grow smaller, the patchwork of fields and roads fading into a distant, beautiful mosaic.
She smiled as she looked out the window, feeling the steady hum of the engines and the gentle vibrations of the plane. Despite the earlier tension, Emily felt enveloped by a sense of warmth, at the newfound recognition that a mere family quarrel would not break the bonds with the family she deeply cherished. This journey was just another step in her new life, a life that seemed more like her own with each passing day.