(A mysterious encounter on an airplane that saved a young lady’s life)
They say all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so for Olivia, a young woman who had been busy working weekdays and going to school on weekends, having a vacation on a beach far from home was the kind of recreation she needed. With school expenses and loads of bills that came with living in one of the largest cities in the world, she managed to save enough money to travel outside the country and experience the kind of break she thought she deserved. It was an escape she had planned for and looking forward to for a very long time.
After a short delay at the airport, there was an announcement for passengers to start boarding. She was filled with excitement as she thought about the amazing stories she’s heard over the years about the beautiful beaches and amazing foods awaiting her at her destination. Before long, she was at the entrance of the plane facing the greeting Attendant. Olivia thanked the Attendant after welcoming her aboard and directed her to her seat. She was still beaming with excitement like a kid in a candy store as she headed to her seat. But before she could get in her assigned seat, a serious-looking Attendant from the opposite direction stopped her in her tracks.
“Excuse me, Ma’am, the first-class section is over there” the Attendant redirected.
“First class? I didn’t pay for first class” Olivia replied.
“Well, you must be upgraded.”
Surprised, Olivia explained that nobody told her when she checked in.
The trip was off to a great start. An unexpected upgrade is a sure sign that the vacation was going to be exceptional. She thanked the attendant and turned to the first class. While there, she noticed there were several empty seats with slightly older and sophisticated-looking passengers occupying a few ones. She took a glance around and realized that the Attendant who had informed her of the upgrade was right behind her. The Attendant gave her a nod of approvalto suggest she had gotten to the right seat.
Olivia was seated on an aisle seat, so a moment later, when no passenger had taken the window seat, she slid onto it to have a glimpse at the beauty awaiting her at landing.
However, before she could make herself comfortable, there was the same Attendant who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere with a serious-looking face as though angered by Olivia’s action with another instruction.
“Ma’am I’m sorry, you’re in the wrong seat. Your seat is the aisle seat”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…” Olivia responded.
Without finishing the sentence, she quickly moved back to her original seat. It was obvious to her that the Attendant could notice her every move despite a busy boarding time.
Minutes later, the gentleman assigned to the window seat next to Olivia boarded the plane and asked if she preferred the window seat. With the offer, Olivia couldn’t believe how things were turning in her favor. But again, before she could answer, she looked up and saw the same serious-looking Attendant standing straight ahead with a piercing stare and a gentle shake of the head “NO”.
Perplexed and nervous by the Attendant’s reaction, Olivia slowly looked away as she reluctantly declined the seat.
At that point, she was starting to get concerned about why that Attendant had been fixated on her since she boarded the plane. What started as a nice gesture had turned a little strange. She did her best to forget about the situation and put out the fact that she didn’t belong to the first class out of her mind. All she wanted to do was to enjoy the experience. She couldn’t believe she was about to fly high above the cares of the world.
The plane had been in the air for roughly two hours and was at its cruising height with more hours left to reach its destination.
Olivia fell asleep shortly after takeoff but was awakened suddenly by a loud emergency announcement from the captain for everyone to fasten their seatbelt immediately. Startled, she sat up and looked around but to her surprise, she only saw the other passengers casually walking around. She wondered whether she had been dreaming. She assured herself that it must have been a dream while still puzzled about how loud and real it felt.
Though she knew it had been just a dream, evidenced by the movements of the rest of the passengers, she still couldn’t shake off a negative feeling that had come over her. Panic-stricken, she took another look around and saw the serious-looking Flight Attendant standing a little far from her. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was purposefully looking in Olivia’s direction as though she had been standing there for a while waiting to get Olivia’s attention. Once they made eye contact, with a gaze, she nodded slowly continuously as though affirming what Olivia had heard in the dream and motioned for her to fasten her seatbelt. Once again, like a little girl, Olivia obeyed and quickly fastened her belt without knowing the reason behind it. Right after that, out of curiosity and worry, she looked up in the direction of the Attendant, but she was nowhere in sight. Her mind began to race to areas she didn’t want it to go. And before she could get a chance to talk herself out of the uneasy sense of foreboding, her thoughts were interrupted by a very loud thumping sound that caused the plane to vibrate and sent a fierce rush of fear waves in the plane. To everyone’s horror, a big chunk of the roof was blown away exposing part of the plane to the sky. Everything was happening very fast. The strong cold wind and oxygen depravity in the plane were deadly. Amid the chaos, some crew members frantically attempted to give safety orders but the noise from the wind coupled with the screams of passengers was impossible for anyone to communicate.
It was only less than a minute into the tragedy, but the enormity of the destruction was catastrophic. Passengers embraced one another as they comforted each other in something that could be the last moment of their lives. Olivia soon realized the gentleman who was on the window seat next to her was no longer there. The fierce wind that was causing so much nightmare blew her body to one side with the seatbelt being the only thing holding her in place. With tremendous fear as she held onto dear life, she was hit by a flying object, which was the last thing she remembered from that day.
Days later, when she regained consciousness in a hospital, she was in disbelief as she listened to reporters on the TV described the tragic incident that claimed many lives and how astonished they were that there had been some survivors at all.
Thankfully, months later, Olivia made a full recovery, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how a series of strange encounters with the Flight Attendant somehow saved her life. Sometimes, when she sees the look of disbelief on people’s faces as she shares the experience, she wonders if anyone else besides her had seen that Flight Attendant on the plane.
.
