Leslie rubbed her temple as she walked toward the plane. Her head pounded, a painful reminder of the wild night she’d spent partying at one of Atlanta’s hottest clubs.
“Amy!” Leslie called as soon as she spotted her fellow flight attendant. “Please tell me you have some headache pills.”
Amy rolled her eyes but reached into her bag. “Of course I do, but Leslie, you should know better than to party the night before a cross-country flight.”
Leslie sighed. “What else am I supposed to do? Visit museums? At least partying keeps me distracted.”
Amy gave Leslie a gentle nudge. “One day, everything will work out for you, Leslie. Just have faith.”
Leslie and Amy got straight to work as soon as they boarded the plane. They prepared for passengers, conducted the safety demonstration, and ensured everyone was settled. Once everything was under control, Leslie slipped to the galley and swallowed the headache pills Amy had given her.
“I wonder if Amy will mind if I take a quick nap in the crew quarters,” Leslie murmured to herself, rubbing her temples. She was about to ask when a strange sound made her freeze.
Leslie held her breath and listened. Nothing. Maybe she was imagining things. Maybe Amy was right about her partying too much. She had already planned to hit several clubs when they landed in L.A., but maybe she’d take it easy and skip a few.
Just as she passed the bathroom door, she heard it again—a soft, high-pitched whimper. It wasn’t the hum of the engines or the chatter of passengers. It almost sounded like… crying?
Leslie knocked on the bathroom door. “Hello? Is everything okay in there?”
No answer.
A strange feeling crept up her spine. Slowly, she opened the door—and let out a sharp scream.
Huddled in the corner was a small, shivering bundle. A young boy looked up at her with big, tear-filled eyes.
Leslie pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. “Don’t do that! You scared me half to death!”
The boy sniffled, hugging his knees. Seeing how frightened he was, Leslie’s frustration melted away. She crouched down, softening her voice. “Hey, I’m sorry I shouted. You just surprised me. I’m Leslie. What’s your name?”
The boy wiped his nose with his sleeve. “Ben.”
Leslie gently helped him up and led him to one of the crew’s jump seats. As she settled him in, she pulled out the passenger list and scanned it for his name. But something was wrong.
Ben’s name wasn’t on the list.
Leslie’s heart skipped a beat. She checked again. Still nothing.
She sat beside Ben, placing a comforting hand on his arm. “Ben, sweetie, are you lost? Do you know where your family is?”
Ben let out a small sob and clutched a paper bag to his chest. Leslie’s stomach tightened. She had heard too many horror stories about people sneaking dangerous substances onto flights.
“What’s in the bag, Ben?” she asked cautiously.
Ben hugged it even tighter. “It’s Granny’s medicine,” he whispered. “She’s going to die without it… and it’ll be all my fault.”
Leslie’s heart ached. Over the next few hours, she gently coaxed the whole story out of him.
Ben was the youngest in a big family. While his older brothers played sports and got into trouble, Ben dreamed of being a scientist. But his mother didn’t always understand his experiments—especially when they exploded.
“I just wanted to find a cure for every sickness,” he said, voice trembling. “I wanted to make my mom proud. But instead of hugging me, she got mad and made me sit in the corner.”
When his grandmother got sick, the family planned a trip to Seattle to bring her medicine. But somehow, Ben got separated at the airport. He thought he saw his mom and followed her onto the plane.
“But she wasn’t my mom,” Ben whispered. “And now I’m on the wrong plane. I wanted to be a hero, but now Granny is going to die because of me.”
Leslie’s chest tightened. She alerted the airline as soon as they landed in L.A., hoping someone could reunite Ben with his family. But when she heard the airline’s decision, she was shocked.
Until further arrangements were made, she had to look after Ben.
Leslie groaned as she stared at the small boy sitting on her hotel bed. This was not how she had planned her night. She had an entire list of clubs to check out! Now, she was stuck babysitting.
Several times, she texted Amy and her other colleague, Brandon, begging them to take Ben for the night. But no one was willing to help. She even considered hiring a babysitter but quickly realized she couldn’t afford it. She had to save every penny for home.
As they silently ate a pizza she had ordered, Leslie’s phone rang. The moment she answered, her stomach dropped.
“My baby is sick?” Leslie’s voice shook. “Mom, what happened? Joe was fine the last time we talked. Did you take him to a doctor?”
“Yes,” her mother said gently. “And she referred us to a specialist. They mentioned a genetic disease. They might need you to come in for tests too.”
Leslie’s hand trembled. “Whatever it takes, as long as my Joe gets better.”
When she ended the call, she curled into a ball and wept. She longed to hold her son, to smell his curly hair, to tell him everything would be okay. But her flight schedule hadn’t taken her home in over a month. No amount of partying could fill the ache in her heart.
“Miss Leslie?”
She looked up and saw Ben standing there, holding out the paper bag.
“If I can’t save my Granny,” he whispered, “at least I can help you. Take this for Joe.”
Tears welled in Leslie’s eyes. She gently closed his hand around the bag. “I have a better idea.”
That night, she bought Ben a ticket to Seattle—at her own expense. She also arranged leave and booked herself a flight home to Missoula.
As they boarded their planes, Ben clutched her hand. “What if Granny is already dead? Mom will never love me then.”
Leslie ruffled his hair. “Your mom has always loved you, Ben. That’s what parents do.”
When they landed, Ben’s entire family rushed to hug him, his mother sobbing apologies. Leslie watched, smiling through her own tears.
Her reunion with Joe was not as joyful. He was thinner, paler, weaker than she remembered. Holding him in her arms, she swore she would do whatever it took to make him better.
As the days passed, Joe’s condition worsened. The specialists had no answers. Leslie stretched her leave, but the airline refused to pay her. Money was running out.
Then one evening, there was a knock at the door.
Leslie opened it—and gasped. “Ben?”
Ben stood with his parents, holding an envelope. “We have something for you and Joe.”
Leslie opened it. Her jaw dropped.
“It’s over a hundred thousand dollars!” she gasped. “I can’t accept this.”
Ben’s mom wiped her tears. “We started a fundraiser for my mother’s treatment, but she…” She choked up. “She passed away.”
“We want you to have it,” Ben’s dad added. “For Joe.”
Leslie clutched the check, sobbing. “This is the greatest gift I’ve ever received.”
A month later, Joe was healthy again. As Leslie watched him laugh on the lawn, she whispered, “And it’s all thanks to Ben.”
She had one last call to make.
The next day, Ben’s mother answered the phone. Leslie smiled. “I have good news. The airline is giving your family a lifetime discount on flights.”
Some debts, she knew, could never truly be repaid.
