Flight

From the passenger’s seat you can’t feel the wind wobbling the aircraft. Fields, oceans, cities are flown over, rising until the ground vanishes, hidden under thick clouds. At moments, the notion of “up” and “down” is forgotten. From the heights, the great Mexico City becomes small, lost in a white stain made of millions of overlapping dots, as soon as the wider territory of the country engulfs it. Then, the continent appears and the earth is far away, far down, veiled by ever denser sheets of condensed vapor. The plane is alone in the heights, cruising among clouds, loaded with humans, bags, food trays and plastic cups holding still in their place. References to earthly matters vanish. Like a bird, the aircraft stays horizontal, swaying a bit every now and then, keeping its top upright. It reaches its stable cruising speed, crossing the air currents at 800 kilometers per hour. For long periods of time, the temperatures drop outside and stay stable inside. Within the airplane, like on the ground, everything stays relatively still.  [...]