TWZ Airlines

Jonah sat down with a small, satisfied sigh.

In a world full of theories, why did I think 'airport theory' was worth testing, he thought.

Yeah, good ole' airport theory, he continued musing, the attempt to successfully show up to the airport just 15 minutes before your flight leaves — despite travel experts and airlines advising otherwise. What was I thinking?

Oh, I know the answer! Jonah could hear his best friend Marshall's voice clearly. It's 'cuz Sarah suggested it, and that's all it took!

Jonah smiled. Well, as usual, Marshall was right.

So, arriving at the airport with only fifteen minutes to go, Jonah made it through security...barely. From there...to the gate at a breakneck pace. From there...a boarding pass? Yes, because when you're living on the edge, who needs one of those ready to go? Not Jonah, that's for sure.

Sarah is going to be so proud.

Boarding pass done, onward to cutting the line. Someone yelled, but the ticket agent didn't seem to notice. Either way, success. Next, finding the seat. Aisle seat, perfect. Then, placing small carry-on bag in the upper stowaway... then sitting. Done! Total time: 14 minutes!

That has to be a new record.

"E equals MC squared."

Jonah heard this and turned toward the voice. Next to him, in the window seat, was an older gentleman, sitting calmly and holding a book. Jonah chose to ignore him. However, as luck would have it, the older man would not be ignored.

Jonah could sense his eyes on him. The man shifted in his seat and spoke.

"Hello there, young-timer. It is good to meet you."

Young-timer? Oh, boy, Jonah thought, I always manage to get the weirdos. He produced a bland smile.

"You're probably wondering about my book, aren't you?"

It was actually the furthest thing from my mind, Jonah thought, and then he shook his head. "Uh, no. I didn't really notice."

"Hmm...I thought I saw you...well, anyway, listen, young-timer, whenever I travel, I always bring a book to help me pass the time. These days, I’ve been enjoying short story collections set in faraway places that make my long journeys feel like their own little adventures."

"That's...nice," Jonah said. Trying to sound polite.

"Yes. It is nice, kind of like a scientific formula that rolls off the tongue. E equals MC squared."

"Yeah, I heard you mention that before."

"Hmm...did you now? Oh, right, how silly of me. Sometimes I repeat myself."

Jonah looked around.

Was it too late to find a different seat?

"Yes, well, I must say," the old man continued, "we will not be traveling at the speed of light today...or at least I hope we won't." Then he chuckled. A soft, amusing sound that Jonah somehow found irritating.

Suddenly, he remembered that he had left his AirPods in his carry-on bag. Big mistake.

"You know, the book I'm reading is very interesting. One of the stories is about time tr- "

"If you could just excuse me," Jonah said, interrupting. Then, he stood up and quickly opened the overhead bin, found his bag, grabbed his lifesaving AirPods, and stowed everything neatly back before sitting down.

The man saw the AirPods and chuckled again. Soft and amusing. Irritating.

"What's funny?" Jonah asked. Starting to lose all sense of politeness.

"Oh, nothing. Just that those won't work," the old man said, pointing at the small white headphones.

"They won't? What do you mean? Of course, they will. They're all charged up and everything."

"Yes, yes. I am sure they are, but on this flight, they won't work."

"Ohhh-kay," Jonah said, rolling his eyes rudely and dismissively. This guy is probably off his medication or something.

Jonah then placed the AirPods in his ears and grabbed his phone. He quickly started up his favorite music App and hit play.

"This is your captain, Rod speaking."

Jonah had a startled moment before he realized the voice was coming from the P.A. speaker and not his AirPods.

"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to TWZ Airlines, flight 1985," Captain Rod said. "Our crew would like to extend a very warm thank you for choosing to fly with us. You'll be glad to hear that all systems are a 'go.' The tower has cleared our path, and the runway is ready for us. Also, our portal of opportunity is open and set. Today, as you may already know, we have the pleasure of traveling through another dimension - a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination."

"I love this airline," the old man said softly.

Jonah couldn't quite hear what he said. "What?" he asked.

Before the old man could repeat himself, the captain's voice returned. "Yes, today, we'll be traveling into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas."

The old man leaned in toward Jonah and said, "A place where AirPods don't work," and chuckled.

"What the h- " Jonah began to say before being interrupted by the announcement

"Next stop, the wondrous 1980s. This will require traveling through the mysterious fifth dimension. A dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity, which may cause slight turbulence, so keep that in mind. Please relax and enjoy your flight. Thank you again for choosing TWZ Airlines."

"Okay...yeah," Jonah said, more to himself than to the old man, "that was...ridiculous." Then he chuckled, trying to sound as irritating as possible.

"Ridiculous?" the old man asked.

Jonah purposely tapped the volume control on his phone, putting it up to full blast. He tapped the song that was queued up. The one that hadn't played already. Silence filled his ears.

"Having issues?" the old man asked.

For the first time, Jonah took a close look at the old man. What he saw shook him to the core.

"Is there a problem...Jonah?"

Jonah couldn't take his eyes off the man. It was like looking in a mirror...a mirror that had the ability to age someone. Like those phone Apps that could take your picture and age you.

It was like looking into the future, his own.

"I never gave you my name," Jonah could hear himself say, as if from far away, from another dimension.

"No," the old man said. "No, you didn't."

Jonah was speechless.

The flight began to taxi down the runway. Jonah white-knuckled his armrests. Once in the air, he stole another glance at his older self.

"Wha - What's your name?" He stammered.

The old man chuckled. "You know my name."

"Say it. I need you to say it," Jonah said. Feeling faint.

"My name is Jonah."

Jonah passed out.

Hours later, the flight landed and rolled to a stop. A stewardess was gently touching his shoulder. Jonah opened his eyes and was relieved to see her smiling face.

"Flight's over," she said.

"Thank you."

Jonah looked around. No sign of his older self. Most of the passengers were already exiting the plane.

What a relief.

Still dazed, Jonah made his way off the plane and into the baggage claim area. He only had his carry-on, so he skipped the mad rush and made his way to the outside pick-up area. Once there, he found his phone and pulled up his favorite ride-sharing App. He began to use it and found that it wasn't working.

Oh well, he thought, let me just call Sarah. She won't mind picking me up.

He dialed and received a recorded message saying the number was out of service. He kept trying, and when that didn't work, he looked and realized he had no cellular service at all.

A voice spoke up from behind him.

"Having issues?"

Jonah froze.

Then, he heard a chuckle. A soft, amusing sound that Jonah somehow found irritating.

Jonah refused to turn around.

Absolutely refused.