起飛
往另一個國度 不熟悉的語言 不熟悉的溫度與溼度
甚至莫名其妙的 連自己都陌生了起來

機艙裡 出奇的安穩 似乎 只剩我和我前座的阿拉伯小孩醒著
大大的眼睛亮著光彩 不時地從座椅地縫隙偷瞄我 可能在思索著：
為什麼我不用包頭巾？
我給了她一個不讓他過於興奮又想玩而吵醒她爸的微笑後
拉開窗戶 比起昏暗的機艙內 適應了一下光線
看見 眼前這片厚重的雲層 難怪 機上的人都在睡夢中了 ……..

並不好奇想撥開雲看看飛到哪了 我知道 剛剛飛離黑海上空 還要幾個小時 才能抵達伊斯坦堡 我知道 這雲層底下一定是一大片土黃色 保守而又風塵僕僕老照片的那種土黃色 想著想著 不禁咳了一聲 彷彿不悅於一臺吉普車急駛過而捲起了一陣黃沙塵土 為忽視那黃煙 我讓我自己欣賞著眼前這雲海
想著 這般景色 何以用文字來形容
白色的曼哈頓 白色未進烤箱的麵團 下過一整夜雪的森林 甜滋滋的棉花糖
蛋糕上的奶油 一大羣白髮的抗議羣眾 Cappuccino上的奶泡
小叮噹和大雄頭戴竹蜻蜓 一起坐在雲端喫銅鑼燒的畫面
讓我噗哧一聲 笑了出來
前座的阿拉伯小孩 又騷動了起來
使勁地搖晃著座椅 我的伯爵紅茶幾乎灑出來
趕緊喝一大口

我 更清醒了
想起
明明是想往北飛 怎的往西呢？

起飛
往另一座城市 不熟悉的腔調 不熟悉的風光與人文
甚至想不大起來 是為了什麼說再見了？

Taking off
Flying to another country, to where unfamiliar languages spoken with the unfamiliar temperature and humidity. I’m not even familiar with myself then.

In the cabin, unexpectedly calm and quiet. It seems the Arabic kid in front of my seat and I are the only sober ones. Awaken, restless brightly big eyes peeping at me from between the seats occasionally; he is probably wondering why on earth I don’t need to wear a veil.

I grinned as slightly as I could for the reason I didn’t want him to be agitated and woke his dad again. I pulled up the window blind, adjusting my eyes to the light from the dim cabin; I saw the thick heavy clouds floating below the aircraft. No wonder, everyone on the plane is drifting in dreams….

I’m not curious and eager enough to see what’s below the thick clouds. I’m consciously aware of the fact that I just flew past the Black Sea. A couple of hours more are needed before landing on Istanbul. Yeah, I know, below them is endless yellowish brown emptiness; conservative, vintage old photo kind of brown. I can’t suppress an unpleasant cough from thinking of the disturbed sand stirred up by a reckless jeep driving by. To ignore the unpleasant yellowish fog, I let myself appreciate the white ocean in front of my eyes. Thinking, how do I describe this sight with words? White Manhattan, unbaked dough, snow covered woods, sweet cotton candies, cream on cakes (vegan, of course), a crowd with gray hair on strike, crème on cappuccino… Doraemon and Nobita Nobi eating DORAYAKI (a kind of snack that Doraemon loves the most) with bamboo dragonfly on heads (how they fly) on the cloud (characters from my childhood favorite comic books) I burst into little laughter…
oops, the Arabic kid is agitated again. He is moving the seat so violently that my Earl Grey almost splashed all over…..
I sip without hesitation.

This makes me even more sober ….
I wanted to fly to the North, why am I heading to the West?

Taking off
Flying to another city, to where unfamiliar accent were pronounced among the unfamiliar customs, sights and sounds. I can’t even recall, for what exactly, we said goodbye?