I have convinced myself I am going to die. Today.
Next to this stranger eating a strange, dry biscuit and another unknown face staring at the screen of a Kindle.
In this cramped corner, that I have claimed as mine for a few hours.
I am lifted out of my seat again, and my stomach lurches, rolling into my throat, threatening to expel into open space. I stifle a scream, and release a low groan instead.
Oh my god, I'm going to die.
I've desperately pushed the arms of my seat-companions aside, and have claimed the edges of my seat as my own. My knuckles are gripping the material so tightly, I'm sure they skin is inches away from tearing. As if my iron grip is going to help anyway. We are about to go down. And once we plunge, I'm gone.
Fucking hell, we are going to die.
I am utterly paralysed with terror. My typical response to fear, as I have come to understand. It's flight, fight or freeze, right? Well, I freeze every time.
Not that I have the option to fight or flee anywhere. I'm trapped. In a rattling, metal, 75-tonne cage. And it's already picked a battle with a vicious, frenzied whirlwind, looking to reek havoc on this craft, and my mind.
Another sharp drop into gravity. My head lolls to the side, eyes rolling, face as white as the stars that are beginning to encircle my vision. I accept that I am going to vomit and reach for a bag.
Is this what dying feels like?
Suddenly, a melodic voice cheerily echoes out over my seat, the polished words clamoring to make sense in my thumping head. This angelic revelation tells me that we are not, in fact, going to die.
Sorry about that turbulence back there. We went through a bit of a rough of storm, is all. We're back on course now.
I sat violently shaken and ill for the remainder of the flight, as a token of my first, terrifying experience with severe turbulence.
Read other answers by Katie Birtles on Quora:
- What was your scariest travel experience?
- What are some of your best experiences while traveling?
-
What are the worst travel experiences you have ever encountered?
from Quora http://ift.tt/29LX6c5
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