The One Night Light: A Memoir

​Aviation enthusiasts from all over the world gather to the all too famous, and so called 'world cup of aviation,' the world famous Air Show. The mysterious pilot named Nicolas Segreto seems to take his heart to the skies. His attempt to take home this award will cost him... cost him deeply. Just what will that possibly mean? Maybe that one night light will guide him home, question is: who might that be?.

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I hope that you all had an amazing holiday season. I know that I had one unforgettable Christmas season. This week I really didn't have much time to write about my vacation that I just returned back from yesterday For the past long while I have been in Florida, which was quite the trip. There is something that I did that definitely crossed off some bucket list activities. Anyways, this week I thought I would share the first few chapters of my new book I am working on! I said that there would be no writing books while in college, but that is not happening. Oopsie indeed. Within the next week, I will be uploading a fancy new YouTube video as well as a newsletter. Everything has just been so exciting lately, I have to share it all. Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this new book. 

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Chapter 1: The Oath to the Skies

The waters of Venice seemingly traced the moonlight way into the depths therein. My mind reflected back to the moment of silence that was offered for Armani Alvaro, who sadly passed in his somber sleep. This really broke my solid heart that never seems to ache. From what I understand, that is just not a part of the pilot's mind. I still remember his funeral that took place precisely twenty four hours ago this minute. How sad it was to see his body laying there lifeless in the coffin. That was something that I have never thought would happen. However, he is with God now, somewhere off in heaven. I always see his face deep within the Venice waters since it was his favorite place.

I knew that every breath I took after that moment I received the phone call that Armani died needs to be dedicated to the skies. Life is simply too short, and Alvaro's life proves just that. The thought of death used to make me sick, but at least knowing that I accomplished a feat better than I thought I could would make me beyond elated. Without the skies I do not know what I would do. I think I would have died an early death like Armani. All I have to remember is that I am doing this for him, for my best friend.

"Ciao Nic!" I heard a deep voice call from behind me. As I took into consideration all factors of who it could be, the voice did not sound one bit close to familiar. "So, when is the next show, Nic?" I was not going to turn around no matter how hard this voice was going to try and persuade me. "What show?" I replied back with an emphasis on the word show. "You know... the show? The biggest air show the world has to offer? Aren't you supposed to be showing them your skills?" His words finally caused me to give in. My head slowly turned away from the Venice canal and looked at the face of Matteo, who is a long distant buddy of mine. "Ohh, that show? You know, I am thinking about retiring now." The look on his face at my remarks was priceless. "Retiring?! Nicolas, you are the best pilot Italy has, okay correction: the world has. If you take this home, this could be the biggest thing for you yet. Nic, what is going on?" He tried to pry into my life like it was a can of trashed Sclafani tomatoes.

I thought deeply for one moment about what this moment could possibly mean to me. The decision is hard because of the thing that happened four months ago at my last show. That one thing gives me anxiety. "I'm just not here Matteo. I don't have the 'gut' of steel anymore." The thought of doing one more show, especially the biggest one the world has to offer, seems a little too much for me. "Nic, you are only 23. You think it is time for your dreams to die now? They all love you, you know, the whole world." Matteo said with pure aggression. "I have not been in an airplane for a solid two weeks. Do you think I can pull this off? No!" I rolled my dark brown Italian eyes into the back of my head.

"Maybe you can practice some more and you will be all fine and dandy. I believe in you and so does Italy. Everyone knows your name Nicolas." He smiled at me, patted my shoulder, turned around, and left. Here I was alone again. It was just me and the waters of Venice. The bridge frowned back at me as I stared at it. Something still called me home, home to the skies above.

Now thinking about it... do you really think I would ever give up? If the world was on fire would I just let myself die? Do I really have the guts to rip up my pilot's license? I thought as my lonely feet trudged along the path. Why else would I be here at this moment? The whole world knows my name now and that is a lot of pressure, but it is a deep honor. With longevity comes misery, but with flying comes happiness. Precision, strength, and effort is what kills it out there in the sky. This is my turn to finish it all off... ​

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Chapter 2: Pushing Home

​My feet moved each of the two rudder pedals making sure my approach to the runway was made in an equal fashion. I could feel the drag and lift being produced by my plane. There was something so different about flying this time. I had not touched my airplane in 6 days. I truly felt bad for my little plane. My mind returned back to the thought of flying the plane. The controls were easy to guide, requiring little to no pressure on either of them. Returning to the ground reminded me of how much I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the sky. There's no other option.

"Yo Nic!" I heard an all too famous bristly Italian voice call my name. "When are you going back to Kentucky?" He yelled as my ears rang. "Well, I am not sure yet. I was thinking about the next few months. I have to catch up on some aircraft detailing. How's my pal Massi doing?" I asked, trying to block out the deep noise coming from the prop wash of another plane. "I am doing alright, I see you got a haircut. You look nice... got a girlfriend yet?" That was a humiliating question. "Why? I do not have a girlfriend, and I am not openly searching either. You should know that Massi. Jeez, between you and Andrea..." I facepalmed myself with my left hand. "I have to jet, so I will see you later, Nic. Go and get your butt over to the south ramp bench. Stef suggested it, not me." The smirk he had on his face was a little daunting. I walked away and simply left the premises. .

Stef was always known as the attaccabrighe, or troublemaker so I never knew when to believe his mouth. I headed over to the south ramp anyway not knowing what I would run into. "Hello?" My voice echoed by accident as I saw a girl sitting on the bench. Oh shoot, this must have been the joke that Massi really didn't make up. "Hey." she responded quite sadly. I could tell she was sad and had something deep going on. I almost felt guilty for how she was feeling in a way that I have never imagined I would. "What's your name? I have never seen you before." I tried to look into her eyes, but she looked away in such an innocent way. "Bella... Bella Whitlock." She cried in her hands as her head dangled down onto her beautiful hands. "Hey Bella, that is such a pretty name. Well Miss. Whitlock, I am Nicolas Segreto. You can call me Nic though." She looked up as I said my remarks to her.

The face of her was pure red, but I saw a reflection of myself in her. The way she looked at me was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. "Bella, are you alright?" I asked her. "No, I am not, but it's alright. Sooner or later I will make peace with this and move on. It is all okay because I really want to just relax for the day. I don't really want to talk about it." She seemed immediately saddened by something deep under her flesh. "What might that be? Don't worry because everything will be okay." I seemingly let my eyes travel down her long black hair. "It's personal, and you don't need to worry about me. I am far better off dealing with this issue myself and not pawning it off to an innocent guy like you" Her small mouth uttered back to me in the most poignant way possible. "I just want to simply disappear and die." She continued before walking away.

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​Chapter 3: Forget it, You're Gone

"Don't mess with me." a waking voice called as I walked closer. To my discovery, I held the thought longer than I should have. My mind blatantly knew that I messed up earlier. I wasn't supposed to talk to a girl. "You gotta go, Nic. They are calling you to go up to the corridor in between the break rooms. They need to discuss some weightier matters when it comes to the process of flight. You may be suspended, Nic." I looked up into his brown eyes that shocked my soul harder than the break of world war two. "Ahh shoot! I cannot go and visit him because I must fly today." I sharply snapped back harder than I should have. "Well, maybe if you didn't live so on the edge you would be able to actually make it through with something. Maybe your faults are caused by horrible assessments of bad intentions. Nic, you're never going to make it in an airshow like this."

Those words echoed deep within my heart... they resigned deeper than a knife. Pfft, I wouldn't make it. What kind of bogus garbage is that? Yet I am facing this once more, but the pitiful moments lock my soul harder than that of solace. This is it... I have to prove them wrong. I am nothing but a menace that truly does not deserve any of this one bit. I wonder what I did wrong -what I destroyed. The reputation of myself is on the line, but what about winning this competition? My whole life I have been thrown under the bus like I do not exist. They hurt me harder than a broken pelvis did. They made me feel mentally inadequate for the job, but I still pulled through with accurate acquisition of the license. Yet why? Why must they kill my innocent soul enough to put me through the ringer?

The most basic ages I was fired upon, spat upon, and merely hurt. It always felt like I would end up dead on the street one day only to not be picked up by anyone. What did that feel like in my mind? It really did hurt and pierce the strongest points of my mind. The truth... It haunted me. The lies truthfully told the false truth every second of the day. Why would I have been the only one to go through it all? Why did it seem like the end of the world was next, my world? That same death statement that my friend made to me in the seventh grade will never leave my mind. They hurt me... stole it all from me. My dignity was gone. I was nothing but a lonely, low life pilot that barely passed the designated rating. How did that come to be? No idea, don't care.
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The morning sun peered back over the mountains as I contemplated the rude joke Talmar told me yesterday. Everyone hates me, and I just had to accept it... or did I? That wondrous moment I truly realized that if I won this, maybe I could actually get recognized for something was one that enabled me to think straight. That something better be good because I am willing to put my life on the line to get this reward. What lunatic puts his life on the line for a stupid airshow? Me. That airshow happens to be the world cup of aviation, and I am going to go for it. The determination I have keeps me going towards that goal.
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"So Nic, it appears that you have been training for this, eh?" The sharp voice killed my soul yet again. "Why yes I have. You sir, have competition." I didn't want to turn around no matter what the heck happened. That moment would have destroyed my treacherous amounts of thinking. "I'm not your competitor in this one. Look, no one wants to see your butt in this airshow. You're going to get fatigued and falter. It's not that we don't like you, it's that we are concerned for your health. I can't even keep up. It's actually Layne Swelter you need to keep up with." He said as he fluffed his hair underneath his felt hat. "Marburg told me that I could whip into this like a bad out of hades." I cracked a grin when his face piqued due to me bringing up his brother. "Nic, I wish you well, but sir, this may hurt you more than anything." He continued on. "I find that false. Barriers have been put up around me all my life, and I'm sick of it. People discourage me, but I'm going to prove them wrong."

The sun shone through the coffeehouse window, providing an essence of romance. "Hey you two, my name is Marylyn, Marylyn Rominger, how may I help you?" She had beautiful brown eyes that penetrated mine. It took me a moment to muster up some sort of decision. "Two pumpkin spiced lattes." I said as my smile beamed the thousands. "Don't you get it Nic?" Nat echoed. "Get what?" I attempted to quietly yell back. "She created a spark in you. I saw how you looked at her." His grin got bigger than mine. "Pfft, I'm not here to talk about women, I'm here to talk about aviation." My cackle made my throat sore.

"I'm sweltering." He commented back on a seeming ill regard way. "You are in love. How else are you supposed to stare at a young lady? She looked at your eyes and you looked at hers. There's no excuse Nic." He laughed as I pitched my eyebrows in a disorderly manner. "I don't, and I came here to discuss the weightier matters of flying." I said with an arrogant tone to my voice. "Ooh getting snippy with me now, Nic?" He asked in a passive aggressive voice. "I don't mess around with people like you. I know that I may seem intoxicated, but I don't drink. Beer alone makes me want to hurl. You sir, the problems lie deep within your skin. I couldn't even imagine losing to Scott Demming at the Schmidt Airshow in downtown Monde. That's pathetic." I shouted trying to get my point across. "Liar. That girl wants you." His eyes have a long full look at me. "Don't push it. Look, I have to go polish my plane because I'm flying in the world finals. No one is holding me back."

The breeze blew my long black locks of hair. "Nic, you're going to get hurt out there. This will leave you no choice but to hang up the wings. Trust me. You're going to end up in a hospital bed, or worse: dead." He said while I contemplated my true freedom. "Either or... I'm doing it." My back turned and walked away not knowing if that would be the last time I'd ever talk to my best friend. Maybe I truly and really didn't care.

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There are so many amazing chapter of this book posted on my Wattpad account. I wish I could post them on here as well, but for now they are being posted on my Wattpad account. Eventually I hope to get them all posted on my Website. Please go and give this book a good read because I love the story line so far! Find it here.