Elena had smiled, thanked him for his advice, and gone back to studying.
She worked part-time to pay her expenses. She studied until her eyes burned. She failed an early examination, cried in her car, and returned the next morning to try again.
She learned to handle emergencies, navigate difficult weather, and make decisions when other people were frightened.
She learned that confidence was not the absence of fear.
It was the ability to do what needed to be done while fear sat beside you.
Her first airline job came after years of training and smaller opportunities. She spent long stretches away from home, accepted difficult schedules, and learned to sleep in unfamiliar hotel rooms.
Eventually, she earned the captain’s seat.
When she first wore four stripes on her uniform, she called her father from the airport parking lot.
“I’m a captain, Daddy.”
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then she heard him take a shaky breath.
