S.KRAUSE

The fifth one went to France

It was a majestic winter sky over the north Atlantic as the sun rose, and huge puffy clouds turned from deep purple to glimmering white. The little girl looked out the window and thought, every cloud does have a silver lining.

She felt ecstacy at 35,000 feet, soaring over one of the earth's largest water masses.

Every now and then the little girl, who was at most eight or nine years old, could see a break in the clouds, and would gasp in awe as the mighty blue ocean became visible. Then the clouds would return.

Suddenly, a break in the silence mushroomed into chaos as whispers passed from seat to seat, row to row. A letter had been found. A threat. Terrorists. The captain's voice came over the loudspeaker: ``Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm.'' The little girl looked around, and locked her gaze on the man behind her. While everyone else was in a panic and spreading fear, contentment graced his demeanor. He was the fifth link in an act of violent political protest. The little girl's life was none of his concern.

The little girl's watch beeped 6:00 A.M.

Her world exploded in to a sea of brilliance and pain, and all because the fifth was going to France.

--12.8.92

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Notes: When Ms. Krueger gave us the topic ``The fifth one went to France'' all of us wondered the fifth what? My own text was inspired by the memory of my first trip to Europe, which had us flying near Greenland at sunrise.