The Last Destination

Sherri was the last person to enter the plane. Out of breath, she smiled at the flight attendant.

“Thank You for waiting” Sherri said.

“Of course, please find your seat, we’ll be taking off soon.” The attendant turned and headed toward the front of the plane.

The attendant picked up a radio and began to speak to everyone on the flight.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My is Daniel and I am one of the attendants that will be with you during the 6-hour flight to California.”

Daniel continued with the usual safety lecture and the dos and don’ts of flying.

Sherri hurried to her seat and belted herself into it. Next to her sat an old man elegantly dressed in a black suit and a matching fedora hat. The mans ’dress reminded her of a picture she saw in an old magazine once. The people in the picture were wearing dresses and suits. They were waiting for their plane to depart. She thought it was nice to see someone dressed so well. The man smiled at her, his face was thin, and his skin appeared to be too tight. The teeth seemed too large for his face.

“Hello Madam.”

Sherri blushed, “Hello, I’m sorry, I was just noticing how nice you look. Almost no one dresses up to travel anymore. Are traveling for business?”

The man looked introspective for a moment.

“Yes, I am”, He said slowly.

“Oh, really, what do you do?

“I assemble people”, he replied.

“Oh, are you a recruiter?”

“You might say that, yes.

Sherri shivered, then she forced her best smile.

“Well, I hope you have a nice trip mister…”

“Mr. Pale and thank you, Ms.,

Sherri sat back in her seat, crossing her arms as a strange feeling came over. She decided to listen to the music she had on her laptop. Slowly she drifted off to sleep.

The crack of thunder awakened her a few hours later.

“Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. It seems we are encountering an unexpected storm. Please buckle your seatbelts”.

Attendants began assisting the passengers with their belts. An atmosphere of fear came over everyone on the plane. The pounding of rain could be heard.

The plane began to shake violently. Sherri felt her pulse pounding away as fear took over.

Looking over at Mr. Pale she was struck by his motionlessness.

He exhibited an icy calm, sitting in his chair with a serene look upon his face.

“Mr. Pale are you alright?” she asked.

“Of course, Ms., everything will be fine.”

Thunder boomed again followed by the screams of a few passengers.

Sherri furrowed her eyebrows. She had to ask him.

“But how to you know that?”

“My dear, some things are decided before you even think about them.”

Her face went blank trying to decide what to ask next.

He turned to her, she could see his white face, his blue eyes pierced her soul.

“You must understand today is not your day,”

Then, there was silence. The storm stopped.

The captain began to speak. “Ladies and gentlemen thank you for patience tonight while traveling through the storm. We will be approaching LAX shortly. Thank you for flying with us.”

The plane was completely silence as the landing took place. Once the plane was down passengers began departing according to the attendants’ directions. An elderly couple a few rows ahead of Sherri began to merge into the line of exiting passengers. Almost at the exit door, the elderly man clutched his chest, falling to the ground. His wife began to scream for help.

“Someone please help, I think he’s having a heart attack.”

A woman in line spoke. “I’m a nurse, what’s wrong. The nurse rushed over to the couple and began trying to help.

Sherri stood in front of her seat shocked at the situation.

Suddenly, Sherri turned to Mr. Pale only to find the seat next to her was empty.