I nearly met my maker in the skies

Tumie Modise | Monday December 11, 2017 21:36

Now I am already having this premonition, looking into the future that some are already battling with the definition of premonition. To get you off your misery, premonition is that creepy feeling you get that something is going to go awfully wrong.  You just don’t know what it is and no matter how hard you try to shake off the feeling, it stays with you for the rest of the day.

My faith was tested about a week ago. I had been looking forward to that day for like the whole month. My bags were packed, my papers all in order for a weekend in Johannesburg. I arrived at the airport an hour before the scheduled flight for check in. To my horror, SA Express then announced that the flight was already full, that we would have to then wait for the next flight or catch a ride with Air Botswana! Now let me hasten to add that this arrangement is now becoming the norm, but it is a topic for another day.

At check in, I was in the company of three gentlemen and two ladies. To say they were fuming would be an understatement. I learnt new swear words that day. The more the airline officers tried to explain (in vain), the more the passengers got really annoyed.  Their anger was justified. As they explained, they had another flight that evening and so any delay would mean they miss their connecting flights in Johannesburg. Seeing that this was a hopeless situation, I quickly agreed to be put on the next flight or whatever arrangement they could come up with.

After all, my destination was Joburg and a few hours of delay wasn’t that bad at all. So I took my bags, went to the coffee shop and waited.  Back to my premonition self; I have had this thing in me for ages now. Whenever I have a trip the following day, my dreams would have to be ‘perfect and normal’ or else I am not going anywhere. 

One time I was supposed to travel with a group of friends by road and the night before the trip, I dreamt that we were involved in a road accident. So the following day I told them I was out- just like that. I did not owe anybody any explanation; it is my life after all. They came back from the trip in one piece, but I still had no regrets.

The night before this Johannesburg trip, I did not have any funny dreams though. I took that as a white flag, so even at the airport as the flight drama was unfolding I was not worried at all. Instead, I spent the time talking to my kids making sure they were ok. I was also giving them the usual dos and don’ts.

An hour later, we were called for boarding. This airline had secured seats for us on the next Air Botswana 6pm flight so off we went. Settling into the aircraft minutes later, we went through the usual airline drill; the rules, the safety and evacuation lecture and then the ever annoying fumigation.

Seconds later the pilot also did his routine announcement. Usually, I don’t pay much attention to what pilots say. The only thing I always pay attention to though, is their voices and tone. Air Botswana male pilots have the sweetest voices you have ever heard! I could use another word to describe their voices, but unfortunately that would be inappropriate for this family paper. Their voices gives one goose bumps if you get my drift.

They speak with ease, so eloquently with the sweetest accents ever, almost like they are flirting. Maybe, it’s all part of their training but its super good!

This voice aside, I heard the pilot mention, as we taxied the runway, that we would experience turbulence as a result of ‘storms just before Johannesburg”. Usually, when a pilot mentions the possibility of turbulence, it usually comes with an assurance that ‘it is nothing to worry about’. I don’t recall this particular pilot saying that, or maybe I was still distracted by his voice. Had he said Tsunami, I was still going to miss that. Or maybe he did.

As it later turned out, the turbulence warning was serious and it was real. About  15 minutes or so later, the air hostesses were up the aisle with their snack trolley. I grabbed chilly biltong and a can of Coke. My neighbour on seat 16D was also busy reading a paper. Seconds later, we heard what felt like a whole kraal of cattle, horses and donkeys and all hell broke loose!

(..to be continued next week)