William looks out the window, wide eyed, at the passing clouds.

An announcement comes over the speakers. “We are now starting our initial descent. At this time please—”

“Maggie, look!” He says. She peaks at the sliver of sky between his head and the window frame. “Woah, that’s cool.” She says, then goes back to watching her feet dangle below the seat.

Their father sits in the next row, behind Maggie, staring at his phone propped on the tray table. Snow covered hills span a harsh Wyoming landscape. A sheriff drives onto screen, kicking up frozen dust. There’s a woman, face down on the road, with limbs splayed uncomfortably.

William’s nose is pressed against the glass, fogging up the window. He watches intently at the buildings coming into view. “There’s like, a whole city down there!” He says to anyone in earshot.

The plane catches a pocket of air and shakes a bit. William watches the sky and pays close attention to the rising and falling of his seat, assuming she’s doing it too. He has an idea for a game. “I bet you can’t do the opposite of what the plane does!”

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“You need to go down when the plane goes up and go up when the plane goes down.”

Maggie grips the armrests and lifts herself off the cushion. “Like this?”

“Yeah but how would you do it without your hands?”

She puts her hands in her lap and tries to push against the ground, but even with her toes pointed, they don’t quite reach. William is disappointed, but tries not to show it. Maggie can tell, or feels the same way, and drops her head slightly.

They come to an agreement that she’s allowed to use her arms. William is eager to start. “We’re going up! We’re going up! That means you go down!” He tells her. Maggie squishes herself into her seat. “Now we’re going down!” He says. She props herself up on her arms as high as she can. The plane shakes and she struggles to hold. His directions come quicker and with increasing urgency.

Their father looks up from his screen, where a weapon has just been fired and another sheriff has joined the party. He reaches between the seats and taps William on the head. “Hey! Bud, I need you to settle down.” He says, and returns to his phone. William doesn’t respond and is quiet for a while. Then he remembers they were playing a game. Still facing out the window, he reaches back and nudges her shoulder to make sure she’s still focused, then spews directions as if to a blindfolded pilot. “Down! Down! Down!” He exclaims. She holds herself off the seat and looks towards the window. “But we’re going up!” She says in realization. “No! Really? Oh.” He says in quick succession, ending with defeat. “Wait, no we’re not!” He yells.

A firm hand taps William again. “Bud! Settle down! You can’t be doing this on the next flight.” Their father says. The words distort Williams’ posture. “Dad, why do you have to keep hitting me on the head?” He mumbles to himself.

The landing gear clicks open, and a motor cranks beneath the floor. This is the moment William’s been waiting for. He presses his head against the window, trying to see underneath the plane. When he recognizes the markings on the side of the runway below he almost jumps out of his seat. “Maggie! Look! We’re landing!”

The wheels touch down and Maggie grabs at the armrests. “Woah. It’s shaking! Is it supposed to be shaking?”

When the plane reaches the gate the pilot announces a slight delay, but notes our early arrival — twenty minutes ahead of schedule.

Maggie unbuckles her seatbelt and steps into the aisle to talk to her father. When William notices, he switches to her seat and turns around to ask what they’re talking about. “On the next plane I’m going to sit next to the window and Dad!” Maggie informs him with pride.

“Yeah it’s going to be: the window, me, Dad, you.” He says.

“No! The window, then me, then Dad!” She says.

“What? Wait, why do you get to decide the seats?” He says. “Dad! Why does she get to decide the seats?”

“William, what did I say? Calm down. I chose the seats.”

“Really? Are you telling the truth?”

Their father nods his head and turns back to his conversation with Maggie.

“Was it Maggie’s idea though?” Williams says.

“No. It was my idea.”

“But did she bring it up? Did she say it first?”

“These are the seats William.”

William looks frustrated. His father and sister resume talking, and he watches longingly. He turns to me then and says, “Oh hello,” then turns back to his father. His eyes fall with disappointment. “I wish Maggie went outside of our family.” He says.

“WHAT did you say?” His fathers eyes widen with disbelief. “Turn around. Now.” He grabs William’s arm, which is stretched over the seat, and uses it to twist him around, then pushes his arm off the headrest completely. “That is NOT okay!” He says, and brews for a moment.

Maggie holds her fathers arm, regaining his attention. “Daddy. I wouldn’t want to be outside the family.” She says. He looks through the seat to William. “No. Of course not Honey. I don’t know what’s up with—” He says before trailing off.

Maggie and her father exchange hushed words. William peaks his head around the seat as they lean in for butterfly kisses, fluttering their eyelashes against each other. The aisle starts emptying as passengers are let off the plane. Their father places a hand on Maggie’s back. “Okay Honey, are you ready to go?”