A strange sound from the bathroom on a cross-country flight gives flight attendant Leslie a terrible fright. Little does she realize that the kid inside will forever change her life.Leslie rubbed her temple with one hand as she headed to her plane. She had a throbbing headache to remind her of the night she had spent partying at one of the hottest clubs in Atlanta. “Amy!” Leslie called when she saw her fellow flight attendant. “Please tell me you have some headache pills?”Amy looked at Leslie and rolled her eyes. “Of course I do, but you should know better than to party the night before a cross-country flight.
“What else am I supposed to do, visit museums?” Leslie sighed. “At least partying keeps me distracted.” Amy gave Leslie a friendly nudge, and the women boarded the plane together.”One day, everything will work out for you, Leslie,” Amy said. “Just have faith.” Leslie and Amy immediately got to work preparing for the passengers to board, then doing the safety demonstration and ensuring all the passengers settled in. Finally, Leslie crept to the galley and drank her headache pills. “I wonder if Amy will mind if I lie down in the rest quarters for a bit,” Leslie said. She was heading off to speak to her colleague when an odd sound stopped her in her tracks. Leslie paused, listening hard. A moment later, she decided she must’ve imagined it.
Maybe Amy was right about her partying too much. She’d already planned to hit several clubs when they touched down in L. A, but perhaps she’d take it easy and skip a few of them.When Leslie passed the bathroom door, she heard a high-pitched mewling sound again. There was no way there was a cat on the plane, so it had to be a child crying. Amy knocked on the bathroom door. When nobody replied, she opened the door and peeped inside. A second later, she screamed. A moment later, Leslie realized the shuddering bundle that frightened her was a young boy. He’d been crying and looked up at her with tearful eyes. “Don’t do that!” Leslie said to the young boy who’d surprised her. “What are you doing in here?” The boy hugged his knees and started crying again. Now that she was over her shock, Leslie felt sorry for the boy. She crouched down in front of him. “I’m sorry I shouted,”
Leslie said. “You gave me a fright. I’m Leslie, what’s your name?” The boy sniffed. “My name’s Ben.”Leslie helped the boy up. She let him sit in one of the crew jump seats while she searched the passenger list for his name. It was probably the boy’s first time on a plane, and he didn’t seem to enjoy it. Leslie frowned.
She checked the passenger list again but still didn’t find the boy’s name! It had been far too long since Leslie last had to comfort a child. The thought filled her with longing for her home, but now was not the time to think of that. She sat beside Ben and put her hand on his arm. “Ben, sweetie, are you lost? I can help you if you tell me where to find your family.” Ben let out a sob. He was hugging a paper bag to his chest, Leslie noticed.
It set her nerves on edge because of all the horror stories she’d heard about substances brought onto flights. “What’s in the bag, Ben?” Leslie asked. “It’s Granny’s medicine,” the boy replied. “She’s going to die without this medicine, and it will be all my fault!”Over the next few hours, Leslie managed to coax the whole story out of Ben.
He was the youngest boy in a large family. While his older brothers spent most of their time playing sports and getting into scrapes, Ben dreamed of becoming a scientist. His mom hadn’t appreciated the explosive side effects of Ben’s quest to discover a cure for all diseases. He’d dearly hoped to make his mother proud and earn a hug from her, but instead, she’d made him sit in the corner. “I just want her to look at me with the same love and pride she gives my older brothers when they do well.” Ben sobbed. “That’s why I stole the bag of Granny’s medicine.” When Ben’s grandmother fell ill, the family decided to visit her in Seattle and bring her medicine.
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