The engines roared loudly as the large aircraft taxied across the runway. Moments and memories flashed in front of Derek’s eyes as the plane waited to take off. He had been in this very spot so many times before and never could have imagined that it would all end this way. As the noise from the turbines grew louder so did the heartbeat Derek could hear in his head, all of his past came forwards and reminded him of everything he had been through in his twenty four years of life. He could hear the sound of the pilot adjusting the flaps for take off and the clunking of the various components of the airplane. Slowly the plane crept forward.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking”

An introduction not unfamiliar to Derek rang out over the intercom.

“The tower has just given us clearance for take off and we will be leaving the ground shortly, we would like to wish you an excellent flight and thank you for flying Air Canada”.

His heart beat faster and faster with every second that passed. Then like a rollercoaster at a theme park the aircraft shot forward pushing Derek backwards into his already uncomfortable seat. As they rocketed down the runway Derek could see the outside world whizzing past him much like the thoughts running through his head. As the front of the aircraft jolted off the ground everything stopped for Derek, all the thoughts and memories, all the pain and fighting, everything in his world stood still. Suddenly the engines of the plane could no longer be heard and the noisiness of take off was silenced by the one and only thought that remained inside of him, the one and only thought that would consume him for the next eight hours over the icy Atlantic Ocean and the one and only thought that would consume him for possibly the rest of his life. As the plane finally became airborne Derek held back his tears and gripped hard on the cold handles of his seat, he wondered if he was ever going to see his son again.

This is the beginning of a novel that i started to write not to long ago. I stopped writing it, not becuase i ran out of ideas or becuase i got bored of it, but because i realized that if i kept writing it, it would never have an ending.

I guess what i realized is that a book has to have a beginning a middle and an end, and well, my story doesn't have that yet. One day i'll be ready to finish my book and i will do just that, but for now i'm just along for the ride.

Life's a journey, not a destination.

Jesse Roulette
Writing novel's One at a Time