Clara’s sleep was fragmented, filled with anxious dreams of walking down endless airport corridors. When she suddenly jolted awake some time later, the cabin lights had been dimmed for the cruise portion of the flight. The air inside the aluminum tube felt colder, thinner.
Disoriented, Clara rubbed her face, blinking against the shadows to clear her fuzzy vision. She instinctively looked toward the front of the plane, trying to locate the flight attendants and get a sense of where they were on the route.
Instead, her eyes locked onto the front galley. The flight attendant who had been working her section was standing completely still under the harsh galley lights, staring directly down the aisle at Clara. Even from several rows away, Clara could see that the woman looked visibly distressed—her mouth was set in a tight, rigid line, and her eyes were wide, intense, and unblinking. Clara immediately looked down at her lap, her throat tightening.