I was on a plane with my boyfriend Adam. We were flying to Paris for Christmas break. I was nervous about flying, but I convinced myself that the odds of my flight being hijacked or anything like that were very, very small considering the number of planes that had taken off and landed since September 11. I settled back into my seat. Adam was sleeping, his legs stretched out over more than one seat. The rows of seats were arranged vertically instead of horizontally, with each seat facing the aisle instead of the front of the plane.
There weren't many people on the plane. I turned around and saw an Arab-looking man sitting in back of me. I told myself not to be nervous, or to stereotype. It wouldn't be fair to assume something about him just because of his nationality. He had a baby with him. It was wrapped up in a turban, and lying on the seat next to the man. It was barely moving.
Suddenly, the man knocked the baby on the floor and stood up. He went to the front of the plane for a minute and came back with a few more people, who looked related to him. There were two other men and a woman, who was also wrapped up in the traditional Arab garb. I could see some of her face, though, and she smiled at me. Then she handed me a sheet of white paper with some typewritten words on it.
It said they were going to hijack the plane in a few minutes, and that everyone on it was going to die. I was the only person besides them who knew about this. There was one word on the paper that was bigger than others; I think it was "responsibility." They wanted me to feel responsible for the deaths of all these people. They wanted to stress me out even more in these last minutes of my life, by placing this huge burden on me. The hijackers assumed I wasn't going to be able to overtake them and save everyone's lives.
I looked up, frantically trying to think of a way to save people. A flight attendant went up the aisle, smiling brightly. I didn't know if I should say anything to her, so I didn't. I couldn't see anyone else on the plane besides her, the hijackers, Adam, and me, but I knew there were people up front.
Suddenly, the hijackers stood up and started walking to the front of the plane. I knew this was the end.
