Ayesha whispered to herself. Her hands were cold; she fumbled through the gear trying desperately to not panic and keep her calm....
STORY
Breath in, breath out!
Ayesha whispered to herself. Her hands were cold; she fumbled through the gear trying desperately to not panic and keep her calm. She put on her helmet and gingerly made way towards the ramp. She was afraid of failing. Breathe! As if on cue, her mother’s words echoed in her mind:
“Be a doctor, or just get married and stay at home.”
“There are no respectable professions for a woman in the society apart from Teaching and medicine.”
“The daughters of all my relatives are studying medicine; only you will be the stupid one who didn’t have the brains for medicine!”
“How am I going to show my face to the world? Everyone would laugh at me and say there goes the mother of the failure who couldn’t get admission into medical college!”
Ayesha jerked back to the physical world, gasping for breath. The words had sliced through her heart; she could never forget these taunts even if she wanted to. She could never forget the smirks on the faces of her family and friends when she chose her profession. Now she had a chance to prove them all wrong - just one chance. She looked at the clear blue sky, then took a deep breath and entered into the primary air craft. The instructor followed her.
The jet’s engines roared to life. The noise was ear-piercing and the commands of the instructor were barely audible. The red light started blinking and the warning siren blasted through the tense atmosphere. The intense throbbing of her heart was all she could hear. Adrenaline pumped through her body making her head spin and feet shaky. The countdown had started.
Three
Two
One
The jet was off, soaring through the sky, picking up altitude. The landscape became more and more indistinct. Can I pull this off? Was I meant to be a female fighter pilot? Maybe mother was right. Maybe I wasn’t meant to be sitting in a jet eight hundred meters above the ground? These questions kept circulating in her head.
And then she recalled what her father had said: “I trust you and I know you will make me proud.”
He was the only person who had supported her from the first day. She realized that this one chance would not only prove everyone else wrong, it would also make her father proud, which was more important to her. As the realization hit her, Ayesha felt something, a feeling that she had never felt before. She felt as if she was a bird, released from its cage, the cage of shame and fear which had imprisoned it for so long was gone - she felt confident.
She concentrated on the directions of her instructor. The musical sound of the wind against the streamlined body filled her ears. She was overwhelmed by the feeling of elation - a joy so profound yet so elusive. She had no idea how she spent the rest of the practical test swooping in the sky but it was soon over. Heeding her instructor’s orders, Ayesha directed the plane for a smooth landing. It was unbelievable: she had conquered her fear, and she had passed the last test in her training. Neither words nor any actions could express her relief and contentedness.
“Congratulations!” The instructor’s voice rang in Ayesha’s ears.
She turned and replied, “Thank you, Abbu!”
