After recognizing the pilot’s voice during takeoff, a woman cried an entire flight and refused to get down until she met him. Nobody understood why until the pilot greeted her.
Linda was not new to flying, but this particular flight saddened her. She sat beside the porthole, pretending she was alright.
Beads of tears streamed down her face, and she could no longer control them. She silently wept, thinking about her parents’ graves she would visit five hours later.
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Suddenly, the pilot’s announcement broke her silence, and his voice seemed familiar.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! It is my pleasure to welcome you aboard flight….”
Linda was startled and began to cry even more after hearing his voice…
“Ma’am, is there something you need help with?” asked a flight attendant after noticing 39-year-old Linda weeping for a long time.
“No, I’m fine….”
But Linda was not okay. She recalled the pilot’s voice, again and again, crying like a child.
“Ma’am, do you want some water?” the attendant asked. Linda was crying so badly that even those around her noticed. While some smirked, others grew concerned, ultimately drawing the stewardess’s attention.
“No, I’m alright.”
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“Alright, mam. Is there anything else I can help you with? Why are you crying?”
Linda refused to answer. She turned away to the porthole and stared outside. “I can’t wait to meet him,” she mumbled.
“What, ma’am?” the curious attendant asked again.
“Can you please not bother me?” Linda fumed. “Please leave me alone….”
She cried for the rest of the journey. Nobody was interested to know why after observing her temper.
Five hours later, the flight landed, and everyone except Linda started to get off the plane. The stewardess noticed the woman was still seated and walked over to her.
“Mam, the flight has landed…Do you want any help with your bag?”
“No, I’m not getting down! I MUST SEE THE PILOT! I’m not moving from here until I see him!”
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The stewardess was unsure how to handle the situation.
“Ma’am, what is it? You can’t stay on the plane for a long time after it has landed. Please, you’ll need to disembark now…”
“I said I want to meet the pilot. It’s urgent. Please try to understand,” pleaded Linda.
“Okay, I’ll tell him. Please wait here.”
Moments later, Linda started to cry even more after seeing the pilot come out of the cockpit. He approached her smiling, but his expression faded after seeing her.
“YOU?! I have nothing to say to you,” he fumed, turning his back and preparing to exit the aircraft.
“They would be proud of you, just like the way I was the moment I heard your voice when this flight took off,” said Linda. “Alex, wait, please don’t go…I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
Alex stopped and, without turning back, asked Linda how she still recognized his voice.
“I would recognize your voice even in a crowd of millions. I love you so much, Alex.”
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“I’ve been waiting to hear this from you for years,” said Alex. “All you had to do was say these words to set things straight. Why did it take you so long to say SORRY?”
As it turned out, Alex was Linda’s younger brother who had dreamed of becoming a pilot. But their father never approved of his ambition and constantly taunted him instead.
“I am not spending a dime on you to waste it in an air academy,” were the last words 10-year-old Alex heard from his father.
Their parents died in a car crash shortly after, and once the dust settled, Linda received an inheritance from them. The will stated she would also be in charge of Alex’s share until he turned 18.
While Alex thought he would be able to use his inheritance to go to school and then the air academy, Linda refused.
“We could use this money to buy a nice big house and a car. Why do you want to waste it when you know you’re not gonna be a successful pilot?!” she told Alex when he asked her about his share.
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Furious, Alex told Linda to keep all the money and went to live with his grandparents. “I don’t even want to see you. Take all the money. I will achieve my dream by myself. Goodbye!”
Linda and Alex’s relationship remained strained for several years. At one point, Linda regretted burning bridges with him and even called him to apologize a year ago. But Alex had hung up on her as soon as he heard her voice, and all Linda heard from him was just a plain, “Hello, who is this?”
It was that same voice that made her shed tears when she heard his announcement during the flight.
“I’m not ready to talk to you anymore. I’m going,” said Alex, snapping Linda to reality.
“Alex, please, give me one chance. Please, I’m here to visit dad and mom’s graves. Please come with me. They would be watching us from heaven, and they will be proud of you….”
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Linda begged and pleaded, but Alex wouldn’t listen. He turned his back on her and left the plane without looking back.
Hurt and disappointed, Linda got off the plane and waited to meet Alex, but he never showed up. Feeling heavy and crushed, she boarded a taxi and rode to her parents’ graves to commemorate their 20th death anniversary.
“Oh my God, I don’t believe this!” she said, slowing down as tears welled up. “Alex?” she cried and ran to him. He was standing by the graves of their parents.
“I forgive you, Linda. Let’s not talk about what happened years ago. I’m over it, and I want you to forget about it too, alright?!”
Tears of joy fogged Linda’s eyes as she hugged Alex. They laid wreaths on their parents’ graves, standing in silence for some time.
“Let’s go home!” said Alex, inviting Linda to his house.
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What can we learn from this story?
- Do not decide your children’s future. Respect their dreams and let them pursue their ambitions. Alex had always wanted to become a pilot, but his dad thought he would be unsuccessful. However, Alex proved his father wrong by achieving his dream years later.
- It is never too late to apologize to someone you have hurt. Linda took years to apologize to her brother. Thankfully, he accepted her apology and forgave her, initiating a good start to their sibling reunion.
