Postponing My Wedding Date

"The scariest thing in life sometimes may not be your safety, but the thinking of the reactions of those who have great affection for you!" Taylor's thoughts when she received an emergency landing call from the control tower at Dawson Airport. *********************** Taylor's POV It was a dream come true. This was my third solo flight. I was about to step into my one-engine Beechcraft plane at Dawson Airport. It was a sunny day and a lovely breeze was pulling the ends of my long brown hair to the back. When I was a little kid, I wondered what it would be like to fly in the sky like a bird. This was an intuitive curiosity. When I grew much older, I knew the secret. My late mum was a pilot and she had flown over 4000 hours before her death. This simply meant that the feeling of flying in the sky was in our DNA. But my mom died when I was just a baby. My dad wanted me to become a barrister. His persuasive words could not change my passion for being a pilot. "Your mom doesn't have much time for me during her career days. I don't want you to follow her path." Those were his chorus. "I love flying Dad. This is something no one can separate from me." But there was something Dad was hiding from me. "How did Mom die?" I have asked him this question countless times. But I usually get one particular answer. "I will tell you when the time is right," He said. I have searched through all the documents in the entire house to trace the death of my mom, yet no documents could tell me about her death. When will that time be? I wondered. I am 22 years old, a student pilot, and I will be getting married by the end of this month. As teenager years back, I already dreamed of flying my plane and viewing my wedding ground from the sky. This was a fantasy I cherished and today was the day I have been waiting for. My heart could not contain the joyful feelings as I turned on the engine of my plane. I came with two cameras with good lenses to view and take pictures of the beautiful presidential green garden of the wedding reception from the sky. I personally selected this park for the most memorable day of my life. Lee, my fiance, had gone to Dubai to purchase our wedding rings. He wanted both of us to go, but I absorbed myself because of this. Both of us had known each other for years as family friends. My dad Jackson, and his dad were co-owners of the Z-tech company. Lee and I went to the same elementary school, the same high school, and the same college, but different departments. I barely knew my dad and Lee's family had agreed to our union. Both of us were mere friends and when we knew about it, our romantic feelings easily had somewhere to hold on to. From a mutual feeling to something that will last forever. It was very easy for our relationship to grow and my dad even teased me that I was having a crush on Lee because of the smooth relationship we had established. Lee was tall and handsome. He stole the face of his mother and the height of his dad, our relationship was at its peak, waiting for the exchange of vow. No one has really come close to me for a relationship. The guy that did come close to me in high school received fierce resistance from my dad. But Lee was given all the time in the world to be with me. Everyone, including our school friends, thought we were dating before Lee took the step to engage me. I allowed the engine of my plane to heat up for a while before accelerating forward on the free runway at the northern part of the airport. At top speed according to the capacity of my plane, I took off. Gradually the surface of the earth became far from me as I climbed into the air. I planned to turn on the music player as soon as I entered the cruising phase and fly toward my wedding ground. As I was about to push the blue bottom to listen to some music, I received the most devastating call of my life. It was a call from the control tower of the airport. The female voice called her name and said, "Miss Taylor, you have lost the front nose gear tire of your plane." "Copy! Charlie Susan." I responded immediately. "Your entire front wheel assembly is on the runway." "Susan… Umm… Should I remain on the pattern?" I asked and winds of fear replaced my joy. One thing I was taught as a pilot was to control my panic in the face of death. We were taught to be more concerned about the people onboard than ourselves. But this situation was totally different. I was on a solo mission. No one was on the plane. I knew right away that the taking off and landing was the most dangerous of the plane. And now, my front nose gear had fallen off my plane. This was a disaster I was trying to suppress. I have been taught what to do when the engine of an airplane goes off, but landing without a nose gear was something I have not imagined. But another frightening thought struck my heart and took my entire soul off me. "Is this how my mom died? Is this what my dad has been hiding from me?" Why these thoughts at this critical time of my life? What am I going to do? I wish I knew, I would have followed Lee to Dubai. How would my dad survive this? These bunches of thoughts came in a split of seconds, giving me no time to reflect on each one. One thing was certain, survive or crash. Then I heard another voice from the control tower. This time, a male voice said. "Hello Taylor, are you by yourself?" "Yes. I'm flying solo." I replied. "Okay! I will be connecting you to another control tower whereby a flight instructor will assist you." It didn't take up to five seconds, I heard another male voice. The first question he asked me was, "How many gallons of fuel do you have in your tank?" This question divided my thoughts. My first inclination was that this flight instructor was thinking about an explosion if my plane crashed down. At this moment, my heart went up and I started sweating on my palms.