The final flight: A rude passenger’s encounter with unseen consequences

James leaned back in his seat, feeling smug as he looked over at the woman next to him. She was older, with tired eyes and a weathered face, and the worn clothes she wore made it obvious she wasn't wealthy. James could smell the faint scent of cheap perfume, and that only seemed to fuel his annoyance further.

"Lady," he sneered, looking down at her, "when you travel, you need to book TWO seats!" His voice was loud enough for those around them to hear, and he felt a sense of satisfaction as he saw people glance over, some of them even nodding in agreement.

The woman's face flushed, her eyes filling with tears. She didn’t respond. Instead, she simply turned her face to the window, hoping to hide the hurt that was now clearly visible on her face.

James, feeling even more confident as he noticed the worn shoes and cheap fabric of her dress, leaned forward slightly and continued, "I guess your whole budget goes on nachos and hot dogs, right? So you can’t afford two seats? Next time, pass the hat around, I’m sure all your fellow passengers will be very generous!"

The woman didn't answer. She simply stared out the window, her lips trembling slightly, her hands gripping the seat in front of her.

James took a sip from his wine glass, feeling superior as he watched the woman shrink in her seat. He felt no remorse, no empathy. After all, why should he care about some stranger who couldn't even afford a proper seat on a plane? She was nothing to him.

But as he took another sip, the flight attendant came by and gave him a polite but concerned look. "Sir, please be mindful of the other passengers."

James rolled his eyes but said nothing. As the attendant moved on, the overhead speakers clicked on, and the captain's voice filled the cabin.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some turbulence. Please fasten your seatbelts and remain seated.”

James sighed dramatically, his wine glass still in his hand. As he glanced at the woman again, he saw that she had turned her face more toward the window, her tears now visibly streaking down her cheek. For a moment, he felt a twinge of something—guilt, maybe? But he quickly dismissed it.

That was when it happened.

The plane lurched violently, and everyone around James gasped, their hands gripping their armrests. James felt his stomach drop as the plane shook again, this time harder, sending the glass of wine splashing across his lap.

He cursed under his breath, but before he could react, the lights in the cabin flickered and then went out, plunging the plane into darkness.

Panic swept through the cabin, and muffled cries echoed as passengers scrambled to adjust their seatbelts. The turbulence grew more intense, each lurch feeling more violent than the last. James's heart raced, and he could feel the sweat forming on his brow.

Suddenly, the woman beside him shifted. James, still clutching the armrest, glanced at her. Her face was now visible in the dim emergency lighting. But something was wrong. Her expression was no longer one of sadness—it was one of calm, almost serene. And her eyes… her eyes were wide open, staring into his with an unnatural intensity.

Her lips curled into a faint, chilling smile, and she leaned closer to him, her breath cold against his ear. “You think you’re better than me, don’t you?”

James froze, his body stiffening as a cold shiver ran down his spine. He tried to move away, but his body wouldn't respond. It was as though an invisible force was holding him in place.

“I’ve heard it all, you know,” she whispered, her voice low and eerie. “I heard your words. Your cruelty. And now... you’ll hear mine.”

The plane lurched again, even harder this time, and James’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at the woman’s reflection in the window. Her image wasn’t reflecting back the way it should. It seemed to distort, flickering like a glitch in the system, her face warping into something dark, something monstrous.

Before he could scream, the lights flickered again, and this time, they didn’t come back on.

The woman’s voice echoed in the pitch-black cabin, “Enjoy the ride, James. This one’s for you.”

And then—nothing.

The passengers' screams were silenced by the deafening roar of the turbulence. And amidst it all, James could no longer hear his own thoughts, his own breaths. Everything went still.

When the plane finally landed hours later, emergency crews rushed to the runway, but they found no signs of life on board. The plane had arrived empty.

The only clue was a small, worn notebook found on the seat where James had been sitting, its pages filled with scribbled words: "Karma’s waiting."

And in the final entry, one last line was written:

"I heard everything too, James."

The notebook was never identified. No one knew the woman. But on that day, no one ever saw James again.