“We’ll be landing shortly.” It was the captain speaking over the intercom. “Somewhat clear skies. Should be a smooth entry into Portland. Sit back and relax, and thanks for flying with us today.”
One of the stewardesses came on the intercom and said the predictable things a stewardess would say when preparing for descent. “We’ll be landing in Portland shortly. Please ensure that your tray tables are in the upright position, your seats are upright, and your seatbelts are fastened. If you are interested in our customer rewards program, kindly see your closest flight attendant and ask for the rewards program information. Thank you for flying with us, wherever your flying needs might take you.”
The overheard lights turned off, and Jim could begin to feel the plane take an ever so slight decline as the captain prepared for descent. He was sitting on the right side of the plane in an aisle seat near the back. Seat 16C. Group F. Boarded last.
He was sitting next to a beefy man with a green beanie and shorts, and wearing a sleeveless sports jersey. He had his blockish black headphones on and was taking up the entire armrest. Jim was somewhat upset about this, because he was also a somewhat beefy man and felt as if he was entitled to at least half the space of the armrest.
Also, the beefy man’s legs were quite large and took up more of the leg space than was allotted for each passenger. Jim didn’t say anything about this, but he definitely held his own and kept his legs firmly planted in his own leg space that was allotted to him as a passenger. He didn’t try to take up more space than he was allotted, but he also definitely did not buckle down and sacrifice some of his leg space just because the beefy passenger in the window seat was pushing his luck. So what if their legs touched? If their legs touched, their legs touched. He wasn’t bothered by that. Not in the slightest. He wasn’t bothered about it if his seat mate wasn’t.
The armrest was an entirely different matter. He had given up that fight just about as soon as they took flight. He kept his hands in his lap and his smartphone in his hands.
Not only did they not talk during the entire flight, but they did not even look at each other. Did not even acknowledge each other, besides the moment they first sat down and got settled into their seats. It was a battle of will, and neither one of them was willing to lose.
Jim had his earbuds in, and his seat mate had his headphones on. Both of them were lost in their own little musical worlds, fighting for space and holding their own. There was the distant wailing of a baby crying, but that was entirely blocked out by the music.
Jim didn’t mind flying. He wasn’t wracked with anxiety, like some people were. He didn’t bristle with tension when the plane began rolling its wheels, thunder underneath them, those moments before liftoff. He didn’t mind the occasional turbulence that so often rattled the nerves of everyone else on a long flight.
But he was impatient. He carried his impatience inside him, within the thumping forefront of his brain. He wasn’t one of those people who stood up from their seat the minute the plane pulled up to the gate. He wasn’t one of those people who rushed up to the front of the line when the plane was starting to board, even when they were only announced entry for pre-boarding and first-class.
But he was impatient. Even though he had no outward signs of impatience, he was very much impatient on the inside, within the confines in the front of his brain. And sometimes in his chest, if he was feeling particularly wound up that day.
The lights were off, the plane was clearly in descent mode, and yet as the time wore on he was feeling as if there was no descent happening at all. Not even a gradual descent.
Eleven songs had come and gone on his downloaded Spotify playlist. And each song was roughly four or five minutes long each.
‘Surely we would be passing through the clouds by now’, he thought to himself. ‘We must have been in the air at least thirty minutes since the captain and the stewardess made their announcements.’
He checked the time on his phone. And sure enough, it was just about thirty minutes since the captain and the stewardess had made their announcements.
He stole a glance in the direction of his seat mate. He seemed to be passed out cold, listening to some sort of ambience while he dozed away. Jim looked around at the shapes and shadows of the passengers around him. They seemed to be unfazed as well, lost in their own little musical worlds.
‘What’s going on?’ he thought to himself. ‘Why aren’t we landing?’
He waited for some sort of announcement on the intercom from the captain or one of the stewardesses, but no announcement came. He passed through seven more songs on his Spotify playlist, and no announcements. Everyone around him seemed to either be asleep or unfazed, or both.
He looked to his seat mate again, to get any signs of life. He seemed to be passed out. Nevertheless, his seat mate continued to take up the entire armrest and as much of the leg space as he could get. He was unrelenting.
A flash.
A voice from the intercom. The captain speaking.
“We’ll be landing shortly. Somewhat clear skies. Should be a smooth entry into Portland. Sit back and relax, and thanks for flying with us today.”
And then tone of the stewardesses speaking. “We’ll be landing in Portland shortly. Please ensure that your tray tables are in the upright position, your seats are upright, and your seatbelts are fastened. If you are interested in our customer rewards program, kindly see your closest flight attendant and ask for the rewards program information. Thank you for flying with us, wherever your flying needs might take you.”
Jim pinched himself to make sure he was not dreaming. Everyone around him seemed normal, unfazed. Either sleeping or in their own little musical worlds, or both. Jim could feel the gentle descent of the plane without witnessing a breaking though the clouds or the lights of the planes of a city in the distance. He once again turned to his seat mate, who looked entirely asleep and settled.
‘What the hell is going on?’ he thought to himself. He pressed the ‘Assistance’ button. It stayed on for a few minutes, and then turned off. He could not see any stewardesses walking by. The ‘Seatbelt Fastened’ sign was on.
He pressed the Call button again. And once again, it stayed on for a few minutes and then went away. And no stewardess came to find him.
He tried this a few more times with the same results. And all the while, the plane with the downward tilt, feeling as if it was preparing to land, without actually landing.
A flash.
A voice from the intercom. The captain speaking.
“We’ll be landing shortly. Somewhat clear skies. Should be a smooth entry into Portland. Sit back and relax, and thanks for flying with us today.”
And then tone of the stewardesses speaking. “We’ll be landing in Portland shortly. Please ensure that your tray tables are in the upright position, your seats are upright, and your seatbelts are fastened. If you are interested in our customer rewards program, kindly see your closest flight attendant and ask for the rewards program information. Thank you for flying with us, wherever your flying needs might take you.”
He looked all around him, and no one seemed to be the least bit perturbed, or even mildly curious. Lost in their own little worlds of music or sleep.
He tried to unbuckle his seatbelt, but it would not unlock. He was stuck there.
He screamed. No one came to his aid.
He screamed again. No one seemed to hear him.
A flash.
A voice from the intercom. The captain speaking.
“We’ll be landing shortly. Somewhat clear skies. Should be a smooth entry into Portland. Sit back and relax, and thanks for flying with us today.”
And then tone of the stewardesses speaking. “We’ll be landing in Portland shortly. Please ensure that your tray tables are in the upright position, your seats are upright, and your seatbelts are fastened. If you are interested in our customer rewards program, kindly see your closest flight attendant and ask for the rewards program information. Thank you for flying with us, wherever your flying needs might take you.”
He screamed again. No one seemed to hear him.
A flash.
And another flash.
And another flash.
And then another.
All the while, Jim was waiting to land.
And to this day, he’s still waiting.
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