Glitch in the Matrix
When I was about 13 I saved up for a whole year so I could fly round trip to New York and visit some close family. Everything went smoothly, despite the fact that it was my first flight, and I was an unaccompanied minor. The summer was so great, that by the time I had to fly back home I was rather sad and anxious about it. It was an evening flight. Feeling ominously like something would go wrong, I boarded the plane and took my aisle seat, close to the rear latrines. I remember being seated next to a young man of Asian descent, with tattoos and a stack of biker magazines. With no window or kindred spirit to occupy my time, when the plane took off I promptly fell asleep. The next thing I remember, my seat-mate was shaking me awake; I thought he might have to use the restroom, but he just kept his headphones in, blaring loud metal music. The only thing he said was “hot dog!!” even though he didn’t seem to have one. Disoriented, I got up to use the bathroom but the flight attendant said it was occupied, so I started returning to my seat. On the way back, I noticed that outside the windows, nothing seemed to be in motion. It looked like we were hovering in midair! I froze in the aisle. Looking frantically through windows on either side, I asked the flight attendant “Have we stopped moving? Is that even possible?” To which she responded with a smile and instructed I return to my seat. I just kept staring out the windows, waiting for even the sensation of movement to return. I tapped the shoulders of a few other passengers with aisle seats, and asked them all if they thought were stationary in midair. No one looked at me directly. No one acknowledged I was speaking. I stared in amazement at the city lights below, glittering, but unmoving. We seemed much too close to them, since the time signified the flight was only halfway through. I could see the tops of individual buildings. By the time I got back to my seat, the young man was already asleep, headphones out, head blocking the window. I shook him for a minute straight but he wouldn’t wake. I could no longer see out the windows. The people across the aisle had shuttered theirs. I vowed to stay awake for the rest of the flight to make sure it wasn’t a dream. The next thing I remember I was wandering around the airport looking for my parents, who apparently thought my flight was scheduled for days later. They came to get me after a few hours, and when I tried to explain what happened they just asked about my summer activities. This is the first time I’ve mentioned it since then. I guess reading everyone else’s glitch stories brought the memory back! @sixpenceee
