Flight Control

by Jacob Aaron Reingold

About the Author: Jacob Aaron Reingold has taught English in Oman, served in the US Navy, and worked in refugee resettlement, carpentry, and food service. He currently lives in Spain.

Excerpt

The man’s eyes devour Elena like lamb shashlik. The flight attendants lock the doors. Elena is tall with green eyes and long black hair, approaching forty. Ever since she was a girl, men have chased her, harassed her, and worse. The recycled airplane air smells sickly-sweet, like a corpse-field. Elena recognizes him—or thinks she does—and shudders. It’s been a lifetime. She darts her eyes away and makes sure her children fasten their seatbelts.

Coach passengers herd past her in t-shirts, shalwar kameezzes, and dishdashas. Fleshy and droopy eyed like cattle. Elena’s children?Daniil, fourteen, and Zarya, seven—settle in. They play a puzzle video game, Daniil patiently helping his sister work through the first level. They smile, and Elena dreads returning home. Back to exile. But all vacations must end, Elena knows. On the screen, she notices the flight from Paris will take them over her homeland, Balgor, which she hasn’t seen in years, and a lump forms in her throat. And at the end, the Sheikhdom looms. The swimming pools, lawns, and endless jasmine of her new country are a mirage over a sand-swept prison. She can practically smell her husband Andrej’s garlicky breath, and his yells echo in her ear. She’s only been with one other man besides him, and the other was worse.

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