Bringing Her Home

Flying home for the holidays with my girlfriend to meet my parents. After we took off, I went to the restroom.

When I came out, the woman in the seat next to me was gone.

I called a flight attendant, but she insisted I had boarded the plane alone.

I asked the other passengers. They all said the seat beside me had been empty the entire time.

But I know, Im absolutely certain, that I got on this plane with my girlfriend. She had just peeled an orange for me, telling me to eat it when I got back from the restroom.

How could she have just vanished?

I stared at the peeled orange on my tray table and demanded they search the cargo hold and the cockpit.

My outburst forced the plane to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport.

The airport police came aboard. They searched every inch of the plane but found no trace of my girlfriend. They couldn't even find a record of her ever existing.

They called my parents. My parents told them Id always been single, that Id never had a girlfriend.

In the end, I was committed to a psychiatric hospital. The other patients beat me to death.

When I opened my eyes, I was back on the plane, on the day I was supposed to take my girlfriend home to meet my parents.

"Alex, what are you spacing out for? It's time to board. Let's get to the gate."

My girlfriend, Sarah, waved our two boarding passes with a smile.

Seeing her gentle face, a shiver ran down my spine. I was back. I had been reborn.

I'm twenty-seven, and Sarah and I have been together for three years. I decided to finally take her home to meet my parents for the holidays.

I never imagined that this one decision would lead to her vanishing without a trace, and to my own death.

Thinking back on my previous life, my mind is still a complete fog.

I cant figure it out. How could a living, breathing person like Sarah just disappear mid-flight?

Why did the flight attendant and all the passengers, who I know saw us board together, all sing the same tune, insisting theyd never seen her?

And my parents theyve always doted on me. They knew wed been dating for three years. Why would they lie and say Id never had a girlfriend?

"Alex, you look terrible. Are you feeling okay?" Sarah was looking at me, her brow furrowed with concern.

A pang of grief hit me. For three years, she had been nothing but good to me. She knew I had a sensitive stomach, and though shed never cooked before, she learned just for me, preparing three meals a day without fail. In over a thousand days together, we never once had a fight.

Thats why her disappearance in my past life had driven me mad, why I had risked everything to find her.

I still dont know what really happened then, but I refuse to let history repeat itself.

I looked at Sarah, my voice tight with a fear that was all too real.

"Maybe maybe we shouldn't take this flight. We could change it, or take a train instead."

Sarah blinked, then her expression softened into a fond smile.

"What are you talking about, silly?"

"It's the holiday travel rush. There aren't any other tickets."

"We spent three days trying to get these. If we cancel them, we won't be able to go home at all."

She was right. Changing our plans was impossible. But the thought of getting on this specific plane, knowing it led to one of us dead and the other missing, made my stomach churn with anxiety.

What could I do? Was there no other way?

Wait.

In my last life, the reason I was sent to a psych ward was because no one except me could prove Sarah had ever been on that plane.

So this time, all I need to do is create undeniable proof that she boarded with me.

With that thought, I pulled out my phone. Arm in arm with Sarah, I started snapping pictures of us as we walked through the gate, down the jet bridge, and onto the plane. I documented everything until we were in our seats and the cabin doors were sealed.

Then, I posted a photo dump to my social media feed with the caption: "Boarded and ready to go! Taking the girl home to meet the parents."

The post immediately started racking up likes and comments:

"So sweet! Wishing you guys the best~"

"Wow, meeting the parents! It's getting serious! Congrats!"

"Safe travels! Can't wait for the wedding!"

Just to be safe, I took one more photo of us holding our boarding passes together and sent it to my family's group chat.

"Mom, Dad, Sarah and I are on the plane. We'll land in three hours."

My mom replied instantly: "We finally get to meet our future daughter-in-law! Your father and I have already bought all the groceries. We're just waiting for you to get home!"

Seeing my moms reply and the dozens of well wishes on my post, I finally let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

There. Now no one could possibly say I didn't have a girlfriend.

As the plane began to taxi, the flight attendant instructed everyone to switch their phones to airplane mode. Then, she started beverage service.

When she got to our row, the flight attendant, Jessica, had the same mishap as last time. Another passenger bumped into her, causing her to spill a little orange juice on me.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, so sorry," Jessica apologized, reaching for some napkins.

But Sarah was quicker. She was already dabbing at the stain on my shirt with a tissue.

"It's okay, I've got it," she said gently.

Jessica offered a polite smile of thanks. Then she looked at me and said with genuine warmth, "Your girlfriend is so sweet."

I stared at Jessica, really stared at her. In my last life, she had said those exact words. But after Sarah vanished, when I frantically asked if she'd seen my girlfriend, she had just looked at me with a blank expression.

"Sir, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I'm quite sure I saw you board alone."

To prevent her from changing her story this time, I immediately put on a friendly smile.

"Could I ask you for a small favor?"

Jessica looked at me, puzzled. "What is it?"

I held up my phone. "Today is the first time I'm taking my girlfriend home to meet my parents, and I want to document the trip. Would you mind taking a quick photo with us?"

"Just as a memento."

Jessica nodded without hesitation.

"Of course."

We snapped a quick selfie: me, Sarah, and Jessica the flight attendant.

I saved the photo carefully, then turned my attention to the elderly man sitting across the aisle, Mr. Peters. He was in his late sixties, and his seat was the closest to ours. In my past life, another passenger had bumped into him while he was finding his seat, and Sarah had been the one to catch him and help him get settled. He had thanked her profusely at the time.

That's why he was the first person I had asked.

But his response had been chillingly firm. He claimed the seat next to me had been empty the entire flight.

To make sure he remembered Sarah this time, I gently tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir."

He looked up. "Yes?"

I feigned nervousness and gestured toward Sarah.

"I was just wondering what do you think of my girlfriend? My parents haven't met her yet, and I'm a little anxious."

Mr. Peters gave Sarah a thorough, kind look, then nodded in approval.

"She's a very beautiful young woman. A perfect match for you."

"Your parents will be thrilled."

His answer was a small relief. I thanked him and sank back into my seat, lost in thought.

Both Jessica and Mr. Peters had reacted naturally. There was no hesitation in their words, no shiftiness in their eyes.

So where did it all go wrong? Why, after interacting directly with Sarah, would they later deny ever having seen her?

I decided to take it a step further. I pulled Sarah to her feet.

Under her confused gaze, I raised my voice and addressed the entire cabin.

"Excuse me, everyone. Sorry to bother you for just a moment."

"Today is a very important day for me. I'm taking my girlfriend home to meet my parents for the first time. We've been together for three years, and we're planning to get engaged right after this trip."

"To be flying with all of you at thirty thousand feet on such a special occasion feels like a unique kind of fate. So, I was hoping you could all give us your blessing. Would that be okay?"

A ripple of interest went through the cabin as all eyes turned to us.

They didn't disappoint. A warm, friendly round of applause filled the air.

"Congratulations! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!"

"You two are so cute together! All the best!"

"Can't wait for the wedding!"

Amid the chorus of good wishes, Sarah beamed, her cheeks flushed a bright red. After thanking everyone, she quickly pulled me back into my seat.

"Alex, what has gotten into you today?" she whispered, embarrassed but pleased. "You're being so public."

I squeezed her hand tightly, my voice deadly serious.

"I'm just so afraid of losing you."

Now the entire plane was our witness.

Nothing could possibly go wrong this time.

Hearing my words, Sarah gently stroked my hair.

"Silly. I love you so much. How could I ever let you lose me?"

"You're just nervous about me meeting your parents, aren't you?"

To calm my nerves, she pulled an orange, my favorite fruit, from her carry-on bag. She peeled it carefully and held a segment to my lips. "Stop overthinking. Have something to eat. We still have over an hour to go."

I looked at the piece of orange she offered, and my blood ran cold.

This was the exact moment. In my last life, I felt the urge to use the restroom right then. When I came back, she was gone. Only the peeled orange remained.

I felt the same urge now, but I couldn't bring myself to leave my seat.

I ate the orange slice, my grip on her hand tightening.

"From this moment on, you are not to leave my sight for a single second."

Sarah gave a helpless smile. "Okay, okay. I won't move an inch."

Just as she said that, the plane gave a violent lurch.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some turbulence. Please remain in your seats with your seatbelts fastened and hold on to your armrests."

As the announcement played, the shaking grew worse. The cabin lights flickered erratically, then went out completely, plunging us into absolute darkness.

Everyone gripped their armrests, frozen in place.

Two seconds later, the lights flickered back on.

The plane stabilized.

Still shaken, my first instinct was to grab the arm next to me.

But my hand met nothing but air.

I whipped my head to the side.

Sarahs seat was empty.

The orange was still on the tray table. But Sarah was gone.

She was just holding my hand a second ago! How could she have disappeared in the blink of an eye?

A suffocating wave of panic washed over me. I tore off my seatbelt and jumped to my feet, my eyes darting wildly around the cabin.

I checked the aisles, the restrooms, even under the seats.

Nothing.

She was nowhere.

Sarah had vanished again.

"Flight attendant! Flight attendant!"

I yelled, my voice cracking. Jessica rushed over. "Sir, what's wrong?"

I pointed a trembling finger at the empty seat.

"My girlfriend! She's gone!"

"She was here during the turbulence, but when the lights went out, she disappeared!"

Jessicas brow furrowed. She glanced at the empty seat, her expression one of pure confusion.

"Sir, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"We only saw you board the plane. We didn't see a girlfriend with you."

There it was again.

That same blank, bewildered look.

Those same chillingly familiar words.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I fumbled for my phone, scrolling frantically through my photo album.

"How could you not have seen her?" I shouted. "You just took a picture with us"

My voice died in my throat. I froze.

The photo of the three of usme, Sarah, and Jessicawas gone.

My social media post with all our pictures, my message to the family group chat everything had vanished without a trace.

What was happening?

"Sir, I don't know what photo you're talking about, but I truly have never seen the girlfriend you describe."

"We are currently in flight. Please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt."

I ignored her and turned to Mr. Peters.

"Sir, you saw her, didn't you? You just saw my girlfriend!"

"You even said she was beautiful and that my parents would love her."

Mr. Peters looked up at me, completely baffled. "Young man, what are you talking about?"

"When did I say anything about your girlfriend? I've never even seen her."

"From the moment we boarded until now, I've only seen you sitting there by yourself. This seat next to you has been empty the whole time!"

His tone was so certain, so matter-of-fact, as if he was stating the most obvious truth in the world. But that only made my fear spike.

"That's impossible!"

"You just complimented her a few minutes ago! She's been with me this whole time! You had to have seen her!"

My outburst drew strange looks from the other passengers.

"Hey, buddy, I remember you getting on alone, too."

"The seat next to you has been empty the whole flight. What girlfriend are you talking about?"

"Are you okay? Maybe the turbulence scared you, and you're confused or something?"

I looked at the sea of questioning faces, my mind reeling.

"But you all just applauded for us! You wished us a lifetime of happiness! You congratulated us!"

"Have you all forgotten?!"

A wave of confused murmurs and shaking heads swept through the cabin.

"Applause? For what?"

"It's been quiet this whole flight. No one was congratulating anyone."

"Hey kid, you don't look so good. Maybe you should sit down and rest."

They spoke one after another, their expressions open, their gazes clear.

It was as if the moment of shared celebration had never happened.

But how could that be?

I remembered it all so clearly. The events, the images, they were burned into my mind. There was no mistake.

How could a living person just vanish at thirty thousand feet?

Why was everyone denying they had ever seen her?

And why had all the photos on my phone disappeared?

"Sarah, where are you?!"

I was on the verge of a complete breakdown, screaming her name into the void.

Jessica and the other flight attendants closed in, trying to calm me down.

"Sir, your behavior is disturbing the other passengers. Please return to your seat and remain quiet."

I shook my head wildly. "No! My girlfriend is missing! I have to find her!"

My continued shouting forced the pilot to divert the flight. We made an emergency landing at the nearest airport.

The moment the cabin door opened, several airport police officers boarded the plane.

Jessica immediately pointed me out to the lead officer, a stern-looking man named Detective Russo.

"It's him. He boarded alone but insists his girlfriend disappeared from the plane. He refuses to listen to reason and has been causing a disturbance."

Desperate to avoid being sent back to the psych ward, I forced myself to speak calmly.

"Officer, I'm not causing trouble. I'm looking for my girlfriend, Sarah. She was on this plane with me, and now she's gone."

"She has to be here somewhere. Please, I'm begging you, help me find her."

My pleas must have seemed genuine enough, because Detective Russo eventually agreed to search the plane.

They were meticulous, but in the end, they found nothing.

Detective Russo looked me over, his expression grim. "We've searched the aircraft from top to bottom, even checked every passenger's luggage. There is no sign of the woman you described."

"A person can't just vanish from a plane, son. Are you absolutely certain she boarded with you?"

Tears of frustration welled in my eyes. "I'm certain."

"I took pictures of the entire boarding process and posted them online! I sent a photo to my family! I know the posts are gone now, but my parents and my friends, they all saw them!"

My conviction seemed to sway him. Detective Russo took down my parents' number and made the call right there.

But when he asked my mother if she had seen the photo I sent to the group chat, her voice came through the speaker, laced with confusion.

"What photo? I didn't see any photo."

"And my son has always been single. He's never had a girlfriend."

My world shattered. I grabbed the phone, my voice trembling with disbelief.

"Mom, what are you talking about? You knew I was bringing Sarah home! You've known about her for three years!"

There was a two-second pause, then my moms voice, even more bewildered than before.

"Alex, what on earth are you saying? Your father and I have been nagging you for years to find a girlfriend, and you always said you weren't interested in dating."

"You've been single all this time. How could you possibly have a girlfriend of three years?"

What was happening? Why was my mom denying it all, just like last time?

But I had my friends. My social media post. They could prove it.

"My friends can vouch for me!" I said desperately to Detective Russo. "I posted about it! They all knew I was bringing my girlfriend home to meet my parents!"

Detective Russo, patient but skeptical, contacted the friends whose names I gave him, the same friends who had commented on my post.

Their responses were identical.

"A social media post? I didn't see anything."

"Alex? He's famously single in our friend group. There's no way he has a girlfriend."

"I've known him since we were kids. He's never mentioned a girlfriend, let alone posted about one online. That's impossible."

No matter who Detective Russo called, the answer was the same. No one had seen my post. And everyone was certain I didn't have a girlfriend.

But I saw their comments. I saw their blessings under my photos!

What in God's name was going on?

As I stood there, utterly lost, the other passengers began to complain.

"See? The guy's got issues. He imagined a non-existent girlfriend and caused all this trouble."

"Yeah, even his own parents and friends say he's single. How can he stand there and keep looking for someone who isn't real?"

"What a waste of time. I'm trying to get home for the holidays, and we're stuck here because of some psycho."

"Just take him to a mental hospital already and let us get on with our lives."

The cabin was filled with angry murmurs.

Detective Russo shook his head wearily and gave the order.

"Take him to the hospital for an evaluation."