The Sky Was Putting On a Show. And I Had the Best Seat in the House.
It’s 5:35 am.
I wake from a deep, three-hour sleep somewhere over the African continent; mid-flight from Lusaka to Addis Ababa. I shift in my seat and turn my head toward the window.
And then, I stop breathing for a second.
The most magnificent scene catches my breath.
The skies are rising. The sun is glowing, slowly and majestically, like it knows exactly what it’s doing. This is a scene I had only ever pictured in my imagination. But here it is. Right in front of my eyes. Real. Alive. Mine.
For almost an entire hour, I stay glued to the window.
The sparkling sun rays hold court, staying alert as the clouds move to their own rhythm — graceful, unhurried, completely unbothered. Some lay across the sky like golden sand, drifting slowly along their own path. Others shift through different shades of gray, using that contrast to make themselves even more brighter. As if the darkness is there not to compete, but to light up.
I watch, completely still, completely present.
And then my mind wanders to the millions of people in Addis Ababa, still asleep in their beds below.
Do they know?
Do they know that right above them, the universe has pulled out the most spectacular show? That the sun and the skies are already preparing something warm and beautiful for their day? That their morning is going to be gentle and bright?
I wanted so badly to tell them. To knock on every door and say — wake up and look up. Your day is going to be simply beautiful.
I keep watching.
Every pattern in the sky finds its place; a choreography of glow, brightness, and just enough darkness to make the whole thing breathtaking. They sway. They dance. They glide across the friendly skies with so much confidence and grace, like they’ve done this a thousand times and they know they’re doing it well.
Then, after almost an hour in the air, something shifts.
The golden-sand clouds begin to blend with the tinted gray, right beneath the steady warmth of the sun. And what happens when they meet? Pure marvel. Pure magic.
At the same time, to my right, I watch the soft white part of the sky rise, slowly, intentionally — as if to say Good morning, world. It’s time. And then it spreads out wide, like arms opening.
The skies open up. More white clouds flow in gracefully, parting to reveal the most soothing shade of blue I have ever seen.
Good morning, Addis Ababa.
This is why I travel; not just to arrive somewhere, but to experience everything that happens in between.
The world is doing the most extraordinary things at 5:35 am, 30,000 feet in the air.
All you have to do is look up.
I hope you always choose open roads to a new adventure.
~ Eliza 
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