A stamp on the hand.
A turn in the sky.
Nico’s ticket was on the back of his hand. He kept waving it at Grandma.
“May I see that?” the attendant asked.
He turned his palm toward her.
“The other side.”
Nico turned it back. The little black bars faced her scanner, while his fingers continued waving.
“You can give me this hand for a moment,” she said. “Grandma can have it afterwards.”
The Boarding Hand
The stamp had felt cool when it went on at the ticket booth. Now Nico stood inside the wooden queue rail, wearing his red helmet and the yellow shirt Grandma had chosen because she would be able to find him.
Behind him, two children inspected their own barcodes. One held her hand so carefully that her pink backpack began slipping down her shoulder.
Beyond the gate, broad steps led to the back of a waiting dragonfly. An attendant helped a girl in a teal helmet into the front seat, checking the strap across her waist before reaching for the passenger buckle.
Two more dragonflies flew above the meadow. Sunlight caught their veined wings; red, blue, yellow, and pink moved along their saddles.
Grandma and Father stood behind the visitors’ rail. Father had his phone ready. Grandma had both hands ready.
The scanning attendant, Ruth, brought the reader close to Nico’s stamp.
The Green Light
A wingbeat rolled across the platform just as the scanner answered.
Nico saw Ruth’s mouth move. He heard a deep humming rush and the flutter of his own shirt instead.
He held his hand out again.
Ruth shook her head gently and said something else. Behind Nico, the girl with the slipping backpack raised her barcode too.
Grandma stopped waving. She leaned toward Father.
“What did she say?”
He lowered his phone.
“I think she’s finished.”
At the scanning gate, Ruth turned the reader so Nico could see its green confirmation light. She pointed to it, then gave him a thumbs-up.
Nico looked from the light to her hand.
“Oh.”
He copied the gesture. Ruth opened the gate, and the boarding attendant beckoned from beside the steps.
The girl behind him lowered her stamped hand and pulled her backpack straight.
Across the Rail
Nico stopped at the bottom step to look back.
Grandma was watching Ruth, her own hand lifted halfway. Ruth caught her eye and repeated the thumbs-up.
Grandma returned it at once, holding it high enough for Nico to see.
He grinned and climbed, one hand following the rail. At the saddle, the attendant helped him into the seat behind the girl in the teal helmet. She held the reins; he found the passenger handhold while his waist strap was fastened.
“Ready?” the attendant asked close beside him.
Nico nodded.
Below, the scanner’s next answer disappeared beneath another sweep of wings. This time, Ruth held the green light where the next child could see it. The girl raised her thumb before looking toward the steps.
Father had lifted his phone again.
“Wave, Nico!”
His words went nowhere that Nico could hear. Grandma touched Father’s elbow and raised her own hand slowly.
He put the phone down long enough to join her.
A Hand Above
The dispatcher checked the boarding gate, looked toward the saddle attendant, and waited for her answering signal.
The dragonfly lifted.
For a moment, the platform seemed to lower beneath Nico’s shoes. Its four wings spread brightness across the rail, and the girl ahead of him kept the reins between her hands.
Nico held the passenger grip with his left hand. With his right, he waved.
The barcode faced Grandma.
She laughed and waved back, then kept watching as the two small helmets moved above the flowers. Father finally found them on his screen.
At the scanning gate, Ruth checked the waiting boy’s stamp. He and the girl stayed behind the rail, watching for the next dragonfly to land.
Grandma looked down at her own hand. She turned it over, studying the unmarked skin.
“What are you doing?” Father asked.
“Finding the right side.”
He looked toward the ticket booth.
“For a stamp?”
Grandma held out her hand.
“I already know how to wave.”
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