Papua, New Guinea, looked serene from 12,000 feet above sea
level. Even from thirty miles away, John could make out the rain forests beyond
the strand of the southern shore. Light wisps of steam hung over the island,
revealing the high humidity common to this area of the world. The changing
waters of the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria graduated beautifully
from light green at the tip of Cape York Peninsula, Australia, to a beautiful
azure and back to light green in the billowing waves on the shores of New
Guinea.
So this is home. John pressed his forehead against the cool
cabin window. The island in view was roughly the size of Greenland with the
tall Puncak Jaya, rising 5,030 meters above the ground. Neighboring peaks
perched above the haze like pyramids.
Instinctively, he reached for his flight bag as he had done
five times throughout the flight. He unzipped it and sighed with relief at the
two familiar slim books. Approvingly, he nodded as he flipped through page
after page of his first flight log, recalling his hundreds of hours of
experience behind the controls of planes and helicopters. He tucked it back
into his bag then pulled out the second book. The pages he flipped through were
blank reminders of experiences yet to come. Just a thousand more hours, that
should do it.
His thoughts were interrupted by the pilot’s soothing expressions of intent to land. The southern coast filled the windows on the left side of the plane. He could almost make out the waves cresting to shore as the plane rolled out of a right bank. John squinted to see the airport runway stretching before him like welcoming arms.
Find out what happens next in the exciting novel Commitment:
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