Love At First Flight

The calm feeling of being lifted into the air in a large weaved basket with hot air powering a big balloon was what Aaron was about to experience. After a hard week at school, Angela had allowed Aaron to enjoy the feeling of being in the air while she brought a few other people up in the same balloon.

He sat with his knees pulled up to his band T-shirt clad chest and his iPod headphones pushed into his earbuds, blaring angry rock music into his ears while he waited for the trip to begin. He sat against a tree that was just on the edge of a clearing in which a basket attached to a lifeless balloon. A deflated one. Aaron was just air-drumming the solo in the song he was listening to when he noticed her. She was definitely different, Aaron could tell at first glance.

What Aaron noticed first about her was not what she was wearing... No, it was what she wasn’t wearing that caught his eye. The girl had no shoes on, just knee high socks. Aaron’s forest green eyes widened slightly as he watched her walk closer. The girl had other differences that Aaron noticed. She wore mismatched patterns, like checker-boards with plaids and stripes, unlike most of the fashion obsessed girls at Aaron’s school. They would probably look down on this girl, clashing patterns like she did. A black and gray tutu style skirt and a white shirt with gray stripes.

She held a large professional looking camera, and her eyes were captivating. The brightest, nicest shade of blue-green that could be imagined. In fact, her eyes were practically the only color on her. Her skin was ghostly pale, not in a sick way, but in a way that said she was sensitive to sun. Almost vampire pale. Her hair was raven black, reaching just past her shoulders in a straightened, messy way. The clothes she wore were all black, white, or gray.

She walked like she was gliding, trying to stay balanced, with her arms slightly outstretched and her feet moving in a graceful way. Graceful. It was a shock to see somebody as graceful as her. One foot stepping right in front of the other. She looked like a ballerina, with her attire and her walk and every move she made. Quiet, yet pronounced. Small, yet noticeable. Graceful, beautiful, shy.

“Is the trip here?” Her voice was soft and slightly crackly. One would have to strain to hear her. Aaron immediately looked down after she spoke, so that she wouldn’t know how much he was staring at her.

“Come again?” Aaron said, his voice hoarse from lack of use, after he took his headphones out of his ears. He looked up timidly at this beautiful girl, completely taking in her facial structure. She had a long nose and pouty lips, which were chapped. Most people would see these features as imperfections, but Aaron thought of them differently; those imperfections made this girl even more perfect in Aaron’s eyes.

“Is the hot air balloon here?” she asked yet again, her voice only slightly louder than before. She sounded as though she could burst into tears at one wrong word. She glanced at Aaron and then looked back down at her white painted nails, recommencing the twiddling of her thumbs.

“Yes it is. It starts soon,” Aaron answered and smiled a bit. He hadn’t even smiled a half-smile since his father passed on.

“Oh well that’s good,” she answered softly and sat down on the grass, leaning against the tree that was behind her. Her camera sat in her lap as she gazed at the sky with her beautiful eyes.

The air was silent and still until Angela Philips walked into the middle of the very large field. She had a few people following her, probably the other riders. They were all chatting about, until Angela checked her watch and announced the beginning of the trip.

“Is everyone ready?” The loud shout echoed to Aaron and the girl. Simultaneously, the two stood and walked over to Mrs. Philips to be able to load into the basket. After Angela explained the rules, information, and the works, after she inflated the balloon with air that is, everybody that was going on the trip walked into the basket.

Finally, after waiting for what seemed like eternity, the balloon was lifted into the sky. Aaron kneeled on his two knees and put his head on the edge of the basket, watching the clouds, the trees, and the expanse of land underneath him. This was what he liked about flying. It made everything that normally appears so big, like houses and lakes, seem so small and inferior. It was odd, but the feeling of being superior made Aaron feel slightly better during his times of sadness.

“Auster, do you like the trip?” Angela’s voice rang out. Auster. Aaron turned his head slightly to see his mother chatting with the girl. Wow, even her name was unique.

“Auster,” he mouthed, the name just slipping out in a breath. Even though it was quiet, he liked the sound of his voice forming the word. It sounded... right. It fit.

“Yes, it’s a really enjoyable trip,” Auster said politely and leaned backwards, snapping a picture of the hot-air balloon’s interior. Aaron listened to Auster humming the tune of some song he vaguely recognized. Her humming was quiet, just like her voice.

She was the cutest, prettiest, most perfect girl that could be, to Aaron at least. The way she took pictures of anything that caught her attention, the way she looked at everything as if she was looking through it and not at it. Auster was probably one of those intellectual girls, very wise for her years. She was probably too nice to everybody, too. Quiet and shy, the most beautiful wallflower to be.

Why do I care about her so much? I don’t even know her! Aaron thought harshly as he continued to watch Auster take pictures of anything and everything. Aaron kept quietly questioning himself why he wanted to know her so much and things of that type...

He was still watching her when the answer hit him. For some reason, he knew it. He knew why he wanted to know her so very much. He knew why he cared. He knew why he was about to stop himself from being isolated. He knew why.

He wanted all of this because Auster was different, he knew it. And even though he didn’t know her at all, he fell in love with her. It was love at first sight. It was love at first flight. How originally cliché.