The Journey

Alan jolted up, and he looked around him, confused. As his senses became alive, he soon realized he was on a plane. On his left was a window he had been lying on before suddenly arising from what felt like years of sleep. To the right, a woman of about 30 years old sat adjacent to him, reading what appeared to be an inflight magazine. She looked at him and smiled.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“Eh, yeah,” Alan said, still confused about his situation. Alan looked out the window but could see nothing but black.

“Where are we going? How did I get here?" Alan asked.

“You don’t know?” the woman asked. “Neither do any of us, really,” she said.

“Wait! What?” Alan exclaimed. “You don’t know either,” Alan asked. Someone called from three rows back. “Eleanor! Hey, Eleanor, come back to us for a minute”. Eleanor went back to see what must have been her friends.

Alan was left by himself. He checked his pockets and pulled out a wallet. A ring fell out, and a piece of parchment. The parchment that fell out was a tiny folded booklet. It had small notes like reminders of small errands he had to run. There was a photo of his family. It was an old photo from the looks of things. Alan put it all away and back into his pocket. He sat for a moment. Something felt off about this plane. It is moving, but it’s so silent and smooth. Not a shudder or knock or turbulence of any form—just nothing. Alan also began to wonder when the flight would be landing. There was no intercom which also felt strange. Why didn’t Eleanor know where we were heading, either? Alan wondered.

Alan got up to investigate more. Ok, let’s find out what is going on, Alan thought. From the looks of things, many people were in the next cabin, but Alan didn't want to go over that way just yet. He looked around for anyone, like an air host or someone, that might be able to help him in his current state f confusion. No air hosts were to be found. Strange... Alan thought. Generally, there should be someone around to help. The plane had many passengers just walking around idly but no hosts. Very odd... Alan noticed a woman looking at him inquisitively. He went over to her.

“Sorry to bother you, miss, but what plane are we on?” he asked. From the look on the woman’s face, Alan could sense that she thought he was being funny. Alan was embarrassed but had to know, so he pressed further.

“I know that sounds funny, and I feel rather silly asking that, but I have been sleeping the whole time, and I just need to know when we arrive and where we are going, please.”

“When and where?” she replied, raising her eyebrows slightly. “There is no when and where,” she said.

“Well, when do we get off?” Alan said.

“You can’t,” Nobody here knows, but we are all in for a treat at the end of this, I believe,” Can’t back out now,” she trailed off. “They don’t like us to talk much about it, by the way, ok?” she said quietly.

“Oh, really, why is that?” Alan asked.

“Am I dreaming?” he said under his breath.

“No, afraid not,” she laughed. “Would you like to come with me for a drink?” she said. Alan was amused at how casually he was asked to go for a drink.

The plane was quite elaborate, and Alan realized that the décor had a 1920s feel when they got to the bar. Having a bar on a plane was a new experience, that was for sure, Alan thought. “Just remember not to ask about where we are, ok? " Eh, I just realized I never asked what your name was?” the woman said. “Alan,” Alan replied. “I’m Jessica. What drink would you like?” "I'll just have Merlot, thanks; I'll shout you the next one." "No, no need," Jessica exclaimed. "They are all paid for already, so you can have plenty more where that came from." she chirped."What did we pay to be on this flight?" Alan enquired.

Jessica instantly turned to meet his face. Her expression was distressed, and Alan immediately knew that was a sign of stopping probing for a minute.

"So you don't remember anything of what they told you?" You don't know what we will be doing?" she stammered.

"No, I have been trying," Alan said bluntly. I can't remember

"Ok, well, we are not supposed to talk about who we were before we got on the flight, " she whispered. Alan looked sideways at her, even more, confused than he had been. Something wrong is going on here. Oh, Alan, what have you got yourself into, he muttered.

Now that Alan thought about it, the plane was relatively small, not as small as a propeller plane, but he could see both ends. The bar was in the back cabin, and another thing was that the seats were spacious. There was nothing ordinary about this flight. It was like their own private jet. So much detail embodied throughout the plane and what it is for.

A wave of nausea passed over Alan, and he couldn't fathom what was happening. He slowly stumbled towards the toilets, a restroom where he could gather his thoughts.

"Jessica, I need to use the bathroom. Where is it?" Alan said weakly.

"Oh, there aren't any. Why would you need one?" she queried. She looked at Alan with suspicion. Why is she looking at me like that with slightly squinted eyes? Her whole demeanor was just off from the bubbly person that he had encountered just a moment ago.

Alan now felt that he needed to play it safe and maybe even play along with all this. Seeking a less clueless character will attract less threat from wherever or whatever might happen throughout this flight. Now that he thought of it, Alan hadn't needed to use the bathroom. Why would they not have a toilet on a flight, especially when they offer food and drink that made no sense?

"I just need to sit down for a bit Jessica," Alan said cautiously, not to sound too stressed.

"Sure, can I come with?" Jessica asked. "Yeah, of course," Alan said immediately; however, he was hoping that not be her response.

They sat down, and Alan decided to lay the seat back. Alan thought the seats lay straight back like a business-class seat, but that was already expected. There were no Tv screens to be found anywhere, though. No form of media anywhere, for that matter.

As Jessica rested, Alan took out his wallet. He looked at the family photo slid between one of the compartments. In the picture were two little girls and a young boy before him, and a middle-aged woman stood beside him. From his understanding, it was clear that this was his family. How could he not remember years of family life? His hands trembled as if he had just succumbed to some panic attack that he couldn't stop. There was no telling how long he looked at the photo, trying so desperately to remember his own family when Jessica so promptly had broken his concentration.

"What's that?" Jessica asked enthusiastically. "It's my family," Alan replied while Trying to make it look like he had known these people forever. Jess immediately swiped the photo from his hands. "How do you have that? I mean, you shouldn't have it!"Jessica yelped. They became aware that they had onlookers attracted by the small commotion they were making. "How did you manage to get by with that?" She said with a little more caution in her tone of voice. Alan was speechless. He didn't know how to respond.

"I-I just had it in my wallet, and I don't know how it got there." he managed to get out. Jessica leaned in towards him and urged him to hide or remove the photo. "Where will I put it"?he asked. "Just put it back in your wallet for now! "You might think that is your Family, but it is not, "Jessica said with a hint of frustration.

Alan's attention slowly shifted from Jessica to her glass of wine, which she carried. For a moment, he assumed his eyesight was going along with his mind, but the glass of wine that Jessica was holding was far from a glass of wine. Alan focused more and wasn't losing his mind or seeing things. The glass of wine was fake. It almost resembled a hologram. To Alan, it looked like something that would be seen in a 3d cinema. He had never taken a sip of his drink.

Alan started to feel dizzy, and as his hand lay on his wrist, he realized there was no pulse. I have no pulse he said, startled. Jessica turned to Alan slowly.

"Yes, you don't, as it is the same for us all on this plane, Alan. "None of us on this plane have ever been alive. We are heading to a new future where we will live among beings like us." "These other beings have made us and have been sent out on this Journey to start something called life."

"But what about the photo of me with my family." "What does all this mean? "I'm a bit scared."

"That is ok. You should feel every moment of it. Feel all of the good and the bad. I can't wait to exist. Being scared is a real human experience."

That is not your family; I don't know how you have it. I don't know how you could have anything you found in that wallet. That is why I don't think it is wise that you let anyone else see that.

Jessica... What are we, where are we now, and where are we going? What is this all about? Am I dreaming?

"Alan, we have been given this opportunity to experience life."

"By who?"

"Don't worry, Alan; enjoy whatever this is. We will know all the answers at this flight's end. For now, enjoy the Journey."