I might have been a great physicist, had I been given a brain that didn’t commence automatic emergency shutdown procedures at the first sign of anything more complex than simple multiplication.
As it is, my fate has limited me to having an enormous respect for the work that physicists do, and a passionate fascination with their field of study. Hence, I do have a rudimentary understanding of physics in a rather instinctual way, even though I couldn’t explain the mathematical technicalities if my life depended on it.

It was a strange sensation when the plane dropped back down through the clouds and I found myself staring down at Chicago through a torrential rain. It was such a shock when only seconds before I had been staring so raptly at the realization of my childhood imaginings, and I realized that this must be what it felt like to come back from Narnia.

We had arrived at the airport two hours before our flight, like you’re supposed to. The trouble is that with a tiny regional airport like Springfield, getting through security takes next to no time, and we found ourselves with an hour and a half to sit and wait.
Once again, Amanda seemed completely calm and relaxed and I was trying desperately to imitate her, even though my mind, emotions, and internal organs were churning.

This is the beginnings of a story. It's been pulled together over the past few months... and I promised Anna I'd post it. :) You have to read it (think it) from the perspective of a girl, perhaps 10 or 12 years old, with a thick accent, Russian or Baltic-like... I'm not sure of the exact country they're going from. I guess it could be any war-torn country, in the past 40-50 years or so. I'd considered setting it in Lebanon, but I got some inspiration about the musical side of the family and needed to use Nikolai... long story!