The Flight To Netherlands

Twelve-year-old Leo looked at the giant glass window of the departure terminal. From there, the world felt small. Beside him was Tama, his sister, holding tight to her passport and looking exhausted. She hated sitting long while waiting for her departure time, but had insisted they come earlier. They were traveling to spend the summer with Grandma in the Netherlands.

Shortly after, the announcement for their flight crackled through the speaker, a relief for Tama, who had eagerly been waiting. She picked up her luggage and held Leo's hand as they walked down the jet bridge and into the open space.

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There, sitting on the field, was the plane named Peter Pan. Tama's face lightened as she smiled broadly. She had read about the Peter Pan flight and it had since become her favorite storybook.

"Remember the Peter Pan flight in my storybook?" she asked.

"I don't. What about it?" he asked.

"I'll imagine it's a ship and I'm soaring in it," she said.

He smiled and poked her softly on the head.

"This is a real event, not some Disney storybook. Come," he said. He held her hands firmly and led her through the open boarding steps into the plane.

"We have six hours to arrive in the Netherlands. Why not use this time to tell me about Grandma? You were privileged to stay with her," she demanded.

Leo smiled as memories of Grandma flooded his heart. He only hoped Tama would believe his story, because Grandma was always the troublemaker, contrary to her present character as a peacemaker. He held out some popcorn to her.

"It's going to be a long story," he said.