She had seen it during a show on television, and it had stuck with her. Carole stared at her hands and held her thumb tucked into her palm, her fingers folding over it, symbolically trapping her thumb. She still remembered it. And she had remembered it the day she first saw it on television. It was the signal for help. She knew then she would need it one day, and indeed, she did…
With a heavy sigh, Carole admitted, “There’s something I need to share.” She then poured out her concerns to Joanne, her colleague, detailing everything from the unusual hand signs the boy was making, to his frightened and confused demeanor, especially when the woman was not around, and even her own story from when she was young and no one noticed her signal for help.
Suddenly, the quiet of the flight was broken by the boy’s loud scream. It cut through the noise of the engine and the quiet talking of passengers. Carole caught Joanne’s eye. In that brief moment, Joanne nodded, her expression shifting from skepticism to belief. It was as if the boy’s scream had erased any doubt she harbored about Carole’s concerns.