Airborne

An airplane. Crowded with people. There is a young woman on my right. She is Mennonite. She wears a long dress. A haube sits atop her shock of red hair.

She’s hard to miss because she is the only person not playing on a phone.

She’s very nice. Very chatty. She rarely takes a breath between sentences.

Her name is Eva. She is 24. Eva has already made friends with everyone in our section.

People like Charles, 62. He’s an introvert. But Eva gets him talking. Charles has diabetes. Life has been hard for him recently because his disease is still new.

“I became diabetic last year,” he said. “I think the stress of my job got to me. The doctor said stress can make you sick.” Charles looks very distraught over this. Like he’s about to cry.

Eva touches his hand and says, “I want you to know that I’ll be praying for you.”

And somehow you just know she will be.

Seated on Eva’s other side is an older woman named Marteen. Who is on her way to South Carolina to meet her estranged sister. They’ve been estranged for 34 years. They hated each other. But they’re ready to extend the olive branch of peace.

Marteen says with a laugh, “I hope my sister recognizes me now that I’m fat.”

Eva smiles. “I’ll pray your reunion is an experience of forgiveness.”

Eva says it just like that.

Across the aisle from Eva is a kid named Cal. He’s on his way to basic training. The flight attendants on the plane make a big deal about this. All the attendants have written Cal letters, or given him cards. They give him gift baskets, snacks, and homemade chocolate-chip cookies the size of tractor tires.

Cal is embarrassed, he tells Eva. Nobody has ever made a fuss over him.

He tells Eva he was raised in foster homes. He ran away a few times and ended up in juvie. All he ever wanted was a male figure in his life.

Cal started working at a restaurant when he was 16. The dishwasher was an old guy, and an Army veteran. The old man took Cal under his wing. Cal says the old man was the first person to ever buy Cal a Christmas present.

Cal promised this man he would go into the military. It’s the biggest decision of Cal’s life.

Cal’s hands were trembling as he talked to Eva.

“I am already praying for you,” says Eva.

After our entire flight, it’s time to deboard the plane. As we are gathering our luggage from the overhead bins, one of us passengers asks Eva what brings her to South Carolina.

“A funeral,” she says. Her eyes are rimmed red.

“I’m sorry,” several of us reply.

Eva nails a smile to her face and thanks us. Then she says: “My sister-in-law and my brother died in an accident. I just found out that I am going to be raising my brother’s children now.”

None of us know what to say. So nobody says anything. But as Eva gathers her carryon luggage, people she’s never met are taking a moment and give her a hug or wish her well.

A 77-year-old with diabetes. A woman estranged from her sister. A young man on his way to boot camp.

“I’ll pray for you,” we all say.

And maybe you will too

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