By: Anya Li
It’s five a.m. I hear talking coming from outside my door. My mom comes into my room and wakes me up for good. Outside my door, my brother is practically yelling, clearly excited to go on vacation. We all go downstairs and quickly grab a bite to eat, then head out the door. The sky is still dark, and I can hear crickets screeching amidst the calmness of night. Moonlight shines down on my family and I as we carry our bags to the car. My six year-old brother is exclaiming, and my mom tells him to be quiet. My dad drives to the airport, passing by lit streets. There are barely any cars out at this hour. As we approach the big city, staring outside my car window, I can see the abundance of lights on and around buildings which brightens the place up even during darkness. The highway is filled with headlights, and it looks just like I’d seen in movies.
As we go through airport security and arrive at our terminal, all I can think about is the fact that I get to meet my extended family, all of whom I haven’t seen since I was two. It’s sunrise as we take our seats on the airplane. I look outside my airplane window and see the runway quickly fading away from my view as we take off into the air. The ground below us gets smaller and smaller until I can’t make out the streets or buildings, and the lights I saw just an hour ago start losing their brightness too. I admire the aerial view of the city. The blanket of fluffy white takes over, and I can’t help but be mesmerized by how the sunrise looks up here. But as we ascend above the clouds, the sun is just a ball of light and it’s too bright to look out, so I pull down the shade.
A few hours later, I timidly lift the shade, not expecting to see blue all around me. No matter how far I look, ocean waters are all I can make out. The sun reflects off the shining surface, and I stare in awe at the world around me, as plain as it may seem right now, looking at nothing but the ocean. Inside the plane, I can hear my brother’s steady breathing as he rests soundly. And when my eyelids start to feel heavy, I lean to the side of my seat and slowly drift away into my dreams.
“Wake up,” I hear as I slowly open my eyes, “we’re here!” my brother whispers excitedly into my ear. As we take our bags, exit the plane, and arrive onto the streets, I take in the drastic change of environment. Back home, in the suburbs, the streets are mostly quiet; but here, the city is far from peaceful. There are many busy people walking and talking, cars fill up the lively streets, and skyscrapers and high-rise buildings make the scene look grandiose. At night, in our hotel, I pull back the curtain and look outside the window. Nighttime in the city looks even more amazing, and the lights, buildings, and cars are even more abundant than the city we drove to back home. I enjoy the hectic, fast-paced living style of big cities, and as I crawl under the soft hotel covers and slowly shut my eyes, I imagine how fun my life would be if I lived here, making me wish we could stay and never leave.