The Last Flight of Skylar
Skylar always knew she was different. Unlike her classmates who often discussed about parties, relationship dramas and the newest fashion trends, she was always consumed with her desire for sky and the alluring mystery of flying.
Ever since she could remember, the dream of soaring through the blue expanse ruled her heart and mind. After her school routine, instead of hanging out with friends or watching TV, she would spend hours with her plane models, imagining herself in the sky. Her room was a testament to her dream, filled with sketches and diagrams of airplanes, and stories of Amelia Earhart and the Wright Brothers. They weren’t just posters; they were a kind of sacred symbol for her - each feeding her determination and ambition.
But life had other plans for her. When she was nine, she lost her father, a former Air Force pilot, to a fatal plane crash. Her world crumbled; the dream that was her passion came to represent her biggest loss. Her mother, dazed and devastated, forbade Skylar from pursuing flying. She saw in her child's face the same stubborn determination that her husband had, and it terrified her.
The years passed and while Skylar never lost her ambition, she became an adept musician, her subdued dreams finding refuge in the melancholic rhythm of the piano. Music became hours spent gazing at the sky, her mind inviting the comforting fantasy of invisible wings.
Then, at the age of twenty-three, she met Tom, an Air Force veteran and a certified flight instructor. Their mutual love for flying quickly turned into a friendship and, eventually, into something much more intimate and special. Tom reignited Skylar's suppressed desire for aviation. He saw the fire that mirrored his own and decided to help her defy the odds.
On her twenty-fourth birthday, she received an unusual yet exhilarating gift--her first flying lesson. Encased in the bubble of an old Cessna, Skylar felt a thrill she hadn't felt in years. The ground shrinking, the sky surrounding her, the euphoria was indescribable. She shone brighter than the sun she now seemed to touch.
Unfortunately, her clandestine flights did not stay hidden for long. Her mother discovered her secret and predictably exploded in rage and hurt. She accused Skylar of betraying her father's memory and disrespecting the fear that her mother lived with each day.
Skylar handled the storm as maturely as she could. She tried to explain her irresistible desire to fly, her relentless passion, and her undying love for her father, whose spirit guided her every time she took flight. The confrontation ended with a grudging acceptance from her mother, a peace offering laden with reservations.
Skylar doubled her efforts. Between her job and her music, she spent all her free hours learning about the internals of a plane, the science of flying and meteorology, among other things. She started performing solo flights under Tom's supervision, her skills rapidly taking flight.
On her thirtieth birthday, she took her most thrilling flight yet – a transatlantic flight. Tom by her side, and her father's spirit in her heart, Skylar completed the flight successfully. In that moment, her dream had transformed into reality. She had finally become a pilot. She was a woman, a musician, a dreamer, walking the earth with her head in the clouds - literally.
Skylar's story ended tragically when a fatal plane crash took her life. Her last flight wasn’t accompanied by Tom, but she was never alone. Her father’s spirit and all her love for the sky came with her. The story of Skylar was a soaring tale that ended, as it had begun, with a flight.
But Skylar’s spirit never left. For those who listened carefully, they could hear it in the wind, whispering the stories of her flights. Skylar once dreamt of flying - and, in a beautiful, bittersweet way, she would continue to. Forever.