As I boarded the plane, shoved my carry-on in the overhead bin, and settled into my aisle seat, I noticed something that immediately piqued my curiosity… a young middle-school-aged boy, maybe ten or eleven, was seated next to me. I assumed one of his parents or his mother was in the bathroom or something. But as the plane took off,

I realized he was alone. Judging by the way he fidgeted, nervously glancing around the cabin, I could tell he was clearly uncomfortable and this wasn’t something he was used to.I tried to mind my own business because when I offered him a small smile, he quickly looked away. Instead, his gaze was glued to the safety card in the seat pocket in front of him.

I figured he was just shy, maybe a little overwhelmed by the whole experience, so I left him alone.

I pulled out my phone to check the time. We hadn’t even taken off yet, and already I could sense the tension radiating from him. A few minutes passed before the plane began to taxi down the runway, and that’s when it happened…Without turning to face me, the boy reached out with a trembling hand.