Yawn Big, Little Ears
The night before the big trip, Imani sat on her yellow quilt and packed her backpack all by herself. In went her picture book with the smiling cloud. Then Rabbit hopped in beside it, ears first. "You're coming too," Imani told him. "We're going on an airplane to see Grandma."
The airport hall was enormous. People rolled suitcases in every direction, and voices bounced off the high glass ceiling. Imani's backpack bounced on her back. Nia took her left hand and Dad took her right. "Hold on tight," said Nia. "We've got you," said Dad.
On the plane, Imani climbed into the seat by the little round window. Dad sat beside her, and Nia sat across the aisle. Rabbit settled on her lap. A voice said the plane would soon go up, and it would be loud.
The engines hummed, then roared. The plane rolled faster and faster down the runway, and Imani's tummy tickled. Her hands wanted something to hold. Her eyes got big. Dad squeezed her fingers, and Nia gave her a smile.
The nose tipped up, and the ground fell away. Imani needed something to do, right now, and she knew what.
Imani pulled Rabbit close and tucked his soft head under her chin. His ears tickled her neck. The roar felt smaller with Rabbit snug in her arms, and her breathing slowed down.
"My ears feel funny," she whispered into his fur. Rabbit's nose twitched. So Imani opened her mouth and yawned the biggest yawn of her whole life, and her ears went pop.
The roar softened into a hum. Imani looked out the window and gasped. The houses were tiny, like blocks on a rug. Rabbit sat up on her lap to see too.
Then the plane rose into the clouds. They stretched out below like fields of snow. "Look, Mom," said Imani, "a cloud mountain!" Nia leaned over the aisle and laughed. "The fluffiest one I ever saw."
After a while, Imani's eyes felt heavy. The hum was like a lullaby. She leaned sideways and put her head on Dad's shoulder, with Rabbit tucked under her arm, and she fell fast asleep.
Dad gave her a gentle nudge. "Imani, we're coming down." She sat up, rubbing her eyes. The ground grew bigger outside the window, and she yawned, just in case, and her ears stayed happy.
The wheels touched the runway so softly that Imani hardly felt it. The plane rolled slower and slower, and then it stopped. They had landed at Grandma's.
Imani pressed her nose to the window and waved at the little trucks and the workers below. One of them waved back. Rabbit stood on her lap and looked out too.
Then she took Nia's hand and walked off the plane, with Dad right behind them. In the bright arrivals area, a woman in a mustard-yellow cardigan opened her arms wide.
"Grandma!" Imani ran into the hug, and Rabbit got squished in the middle. Grandma smelled like lemon cookies. "I flew on a plane, and I yawned my ears, and I saw cloud snow! Can Rabbit have a cookie?" "Rabbit can have a whole carrot, my dear," said Grandma.
