Ajay knew plane journey takes up to 5hrs and 30 minutes from New Delhi to London. This plane had its passengers count to 200, with 3 people on either side of aisle in each row. Ajay had liberty to look through the window for he was sitting on its adjacent seat. With that logic, he gave a short glance towards his only one neighbor to find a mid-twenties lady in business attire. Having concluded her to be of Indian ethnicity, took a peek at her other neighbor, who greeted him with an unexpected gaze from equally curious lady in comfortable journey clothes. She looked like an avid traveler in her late twenties or early thirties of european origin. Giving a sheepish smile, Ajay returned looking through window, visibly embarrassed. He was kind of happy travelling with ladies though he wouldn’t start a conversation with them.

After looking down to the monotonous movement of clouds in the sky, he decided to have a little sleep. Lady draped in business attire, opened her laptop to complete her some presentation work. Ajay slowly slipped into sleep not before catching her name to be ‘Priya’ on one of the slides. It will likely be his last peaceful sleep on that blue planet.

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With an unexpected jolt, Ajay was wide awake but jolts didn’t stop and neither those sudden small dips. No one needed description for what was happening, for they have made their own conclusion - “Plane is going to crash”. All passengers were afraid along with hostess. Few started praying; few became emotionally unstable and started screaming. Ajay tried to check whether he had fastened his seatbelt only to find his hands full with a laptop which he recognized that it belonged to his neighbor. Priya looked frightened; she lost the confident face she once had when the journey started. She had her palms both clasped together, obviously praying in a language Ajay couldn’t recognize. Folding the laptop that might have fallen on him during those dips, confused over the fact why it looked like he had caught it, let it fall the floor and under his feet. Checking his seat belt, Ajay once again looked at the surrounding people, and made a mental path over to the emergency exits or normal exits, which obviously had many human obstacles. The traveler lady on the aisle seat, too looked frightened, but had her senses under control.

She wouldn’t be an obstacle.

But that couldn’t be said about Priya. She was sure to cause some kind of trouble while exiting the flight. Ajay needed no obstacles on his path. He mentally thought of hitting the lady out cold and crossing the seat, if needed. But he didn’t know whether a hit from behind as shown in many movies will work in reality.

I am over-thinking. I should start trusting more on the pilot.

Ajay looked out of the window to see many dark clouds, raindrops hitting the wings of the plane and forming some kind of blanket upon it due planes speed. There were lightning and thunder at a distance.

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Why the heck did the pilot bring the plane into middle of rainstorm?

Sudden fall of oxygen masks from below the cabins didn’t help Ajay who was already losing confidence on the pilot. Thunders and lightening seemed to start creeping closer to the plane. Having seen bright lightning and thunders so close, Ajay was kind of excited, only if the plane won’t crash later on. Many people had closed their ears due to loud thunders, but to increase their odds to live, have started trying to wear the oxygen masks. Ajay too was one of them. Priya and the other lady too grabbed the mask and wore it as the flight descended. If Ajay were to choose, whether the flight was in horizontal or vertical position, he would have said vertical - eyes closed - but he knew it was his mind playing tricks with him. He had his eyes wide opened, looking out of the windows, trying to assess the situation each and every moment. He could feel the increasing speed, he feared, the flight can never land at this speed, but only crash. His mind didn’t help him with reminding him scenes of splashed watermelons, or squashed bananas, flattened cars aftermath of accidents. He steeled himself for his death and started waiting for it, as if waiting for release of a new movie starring his favorite actor. He closed in his cheeks against the window panel, and started looking for the dear Earth, which he thought will soon kiss. But what he saw was a magnificent cluster of lightings that didn’t seem like it would cease to exist anytime soon.

Well, I hope my death will at least look cool with those lightning going around.

The pilot of the plane had already seen the thick group of clouds which seemed to have unlimited amount of static energy flowing through them. Pilot and his co, were desperate to at least avoid going through those dangerously looking clouds, but failed to do anything owing to incredible descent of the plane. As soon as they neared them, they were blinded by bright light.

Ajay had been watching out of the window, as bright light seemed to surround the plane. He thought, plane was struck by lightning. He saw the wings of the plane being shredded.

Ajay thought, Oh Almighty God, Please pass on my message to my parents that I love them.

He didn’t think over on how God will pass on the message. As not to disturb his own inquisitive mind at his last moments, he beforehand prefixed God with ‘Almighty’. And it was God’s business from now on, on how he will do it.

Ajay turned to his left and looked over the obviously frightened Priya who was shouting at top of her voice, with oxygen mask on. With one hand grabbing her oxygen mask and while with another, taking out his own mask –not before filling his own lungs with life giving air – Ajay pulled Priya closer, looking directly into her eyes, planted his first kiss on her soft pink lips as blinding white light surrounded everyone in the plane.