The air outside the airport was far too cold for the light jacket Kiro had brought. After what had felt like hours and about 15 times asking for directions she had made it out of the big place but now she still had no clue what to do. An uber wasn’t an option as she didn’t have the app, there didn’t seem to be anything like a taxi waiting about and she didn’t fancy walking 8 miles to the hotel she had booked a room at in this weather.
Her thoughts snapped back to the boy. A jolt of turbulence had snapped Kiro awake, her shoulder slamming lightly against the window as the plane dipped and steadied. Her heart leapt into her throat, and for a moment she had forgotten where she was. The cabin lights had brightened, casting a sterile glow over the rows of groggy passengers. Flight attendants moved briskly, checking seatbelts and overhead bins. The descent had begun.
Beside her, the boy remained completely still—his head tilted toward her, breath slow, limbs slack. He didn’t flinch when the plane rattled. Didn’t stir when the wheels hit the tarmac with a heavy thud. Even as the brakes groaned and the plane rolled to a stop, he stayed asleep, pressed against her like gravity itself.
Passengers began to shuffle out, voices low, bags dragging. Kiro sat frozen, her body aching from hours of tension, her mind still fogged with the sudden adrenaline spike. More than half the plane had emptied before the boy finally blinked awake.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes, then looked at her with a sheepish half-smile. “You should’ve woken me,” he said, voice rough with sleep.
Kiro opened her mouth, then closed it. Tried again. Nothing came out.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
She didn’t know what to say. She had tried to wake him. She settled for glaring at him.
He hadn’t seemed to mind and when he caught the look, his grin turned from sheepish to wolf-ish. Then he stood, stretching, and moved down to the exit without a bag or a backward glance.
A slap of wind brought Kiro back to the present she wanted to kick something but freezing to death wouldn't do her much good so she headed back inside and waited just inside the doors while puzzling out her options when a voice cut through her thoughts she looked down to where a little kid maybe 3 years old was tugging on on the leg of her pants, “Hey miss?”
“Oh hi,” She dipped into a crouch so she was on the eye level of the girl, “What can I do for you?
Tears began to well in the tiny things eye’s and her lower lip started wobbling, “I can't find my mom.”
“Would you like me to help you find her?” Kiro made sure her tone was calm and light.
The girl nodded vigorously as the tears started to fall down her rounded cheeks.
Kiro scooped her, “What's your name sweety?”
“Mina,” she replied while using fat little fists to wipe her eyes.
“NIce to meet you Mina, where is the last place you saw your mom?”
“I-I don’t know.” Great. Kiro started walking looking for someone that worked there or attentively looked like they were missing something fairly important. She spotted the former first, a security guard. She started in his direction but paused as she realized that bringing the attention of any type of law enforcement on her was likely not the best idea. She rocked back on her heels departing what to do, one look at Mina decided it for her though. What type of person would she be to just ditch a kid? Even if she pointed out the guard and told Mina to go over to him something bad could happen. Geez.
