Recap: Jordie and Zevi are told not to go back to Zevi’s aunt. They are picked up by a cab and the driver says the code and hands them tickets for a flight to Israel. He drives them to the airport. They board the plane and then Zevi notices a woman seated across the aisle, wearing a black burka covering her face, and she has a mole on her forefinger.
“We are closing the doors and we will be taking off shortly. Please be sure your carry-ons are stowed securely above your seat or all the way under your seat. We will be coming down the aisle for a final check.”
“How do you know it’s her?” I asked, but I knew it, too. She had followed us onto the plane. Now what?
“We have to get off now.” Jordie was definite.
“How?” I asked. Beads of sweat broke out on my forehead. We had to get away from that lady with the burka. She was Alikah Ahmar.
Jordie closed his eyes for a minute. “I know. You start coughing. You’re gonna say you feel awful.”
“Huh?”
“Trust me. I’m gonna ring for the flight attendant. Just keep coughing.”
I started coughing and hoped he knew what he was doing.
A flight attendant came over to us.
“I’m sorry,” Jordie whispered. “My friend had Covid, and we thought he was better, but it looks like it’s come back really bad. He’s not feeling well. I don’t want to expose everyone on the flight.”
The flight attendant took a step back. “We don’t let anyone leave after the doors close but I think this will be an exception. Follow me.“
We followed her to the door and within minutes we were off the plane.
“That was brilliant,” I said to Jordie as we walked back into the terminal.
“Except now what?”
“Let’s sit here and wait to hear from your aunt. I left her a message.” We sat by the window. I watched the plane take off.
“I can’t believe that woman––”
Jordie put his finger to his lips. I realized I should be quiet. You never know who is listening.
After what seemed a long time, Jordie’s phone buzzed with a message from Aunt Ellie.
“You are booked on Air India Flight #705 to England. Go to the terminal. Code same. Boarding passes at the gate.
Contact will meet you there. He’ll approach you.”
We headed to the Air India terminal.
“Do you think we’ll have to stay in London?”
“I doubt it. It could be we’ll have a stopover on the way to Israel.”
We walked a long way to get to the terminal. My legs were starting to ache, and I realized I’d barely eaten anything all day. “ I hope they have kosher meals on the plane,” I said.
“It was last minute booking so I wouldn’t count on it.”
We stopped in a small shop and I bought a mini-hummus with pretzels and an apple.
“That looks good. I’ll get one too.”
“Baruch Hashem, it has a good hashgachah, “I said.
“Do you think we have time to sit and eat it?” I asked.
“No, let’s not take a chance. We can eat it on the plane.”
We hurried to the gate. “Now we wait for the contact,” Jordie whispered to me.
A few seconds later, a woman wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat approached. She wore dark glasses and a long brown skirt.
“Stav, choref, aviv,” she murmured.
“Kayitz,” Jordie whispered.
She reached into a pocket in her skirt and pulled out an envelope.
“Here are the boarding passes.” She handed them to Jordie and quickly strode away.
“We will begin boarding in a few minutes. Have your boarding passes ready. This is a nonstop flight to London,” the flight attendant announced.
“London!” I whispered.
“I’ll call your Aunt Ellie,” Jordie said. “Let’s see what she says.”
“Your contact in London will tell you what’s next.”
“So we get off in London?” I asked.
A man behind me cleared his throat. “Excuse me. Is this your first trip to London? We’re so excited, my wife and I. We’ve never been there before. Can’t wait to take in Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. What about you boys? Are you from there?”
I looked to Jordie to see what he would answer.
“No, not originally.” Jordie stepped away and I followed him.
“I don’t want to get into any lengthy conversations with anyone,” he said.
“We are starting to board now,” the flight attendant announced.
When Jordie handed her the boarding passes, she glanced up at us and then looking down at them, she said in a barely audible whisper, “Stav, choref , aviv. Go to Buckingham Palace.”
Jordie motioned me to follow him, and we strolled behind the other passengers filing onto the plane.
I wanted to ask questions but I stayed mute.
This time, we were seated in regular class. “Too bad, we had such great seats before,” Jordie whispered.
The people in front of us were speaking in another language.
“What language is that?” I asked, worrying if it was Arabic.
“It’s Hindi.”
“We ask everyone to take their seats.” The flight attendant began a safety presentation. I listened intently and looked for the nearest exit as she suggested.
All of a sudden, we were ready for takeoff. I had my knapsack under the seat in front of me. I pulled out my siddur to say T’filas HaDerech. Jordie asked me to show him the prayer.
My stomach felt like it was dropping. I hoped I wouldn’t throw up. We rose higher and higher. I was sitting by the window and I saw everything on the ground grow smaller and smaller. It was amazing!
Once we reached a certain altitude, my stomach felt less jittery.
“See, flying’s not so bad,” Jordie said.
I glanced around at the passengers near us. What if one of them was a terrorist? What if he or she had followed us?
The flight was long, but I thanked Hashem that we had escaped from that woman with the black burka. There was no way she could have gotten off the plane, too.
*****
We finally landed in England. As we were walking off the plane, one of the flight attendants passed an envelope to Jordie.
When we reached the main terminal, Jordie opened it. “It’s tickets to Israel but not until tomorrow night.” There’s a note that says to wait for a message from your aunt to see where to sleep tonight.
We sat by a window, waiting for Aunt Ellie’s next message. Jordie’s phone rang. “It’s her,” he whispered.
Jordie listened carefully and hung up.
“What’d she say?”
“Come on.” Jordie rose and headed towards the ground transportation exit.
I had to walk fast to keep up.
As we left the airport, I noticed a man wearing a cap and dark glasses walking a few yards away. At first, it seemed he was just going in the same direction as we were, but whichever way we headed, he went that way. I elbowed Jordie.
“I know,” Jordie whispered. “Just stay close. We have to try to lose him.
To be continued…
By Susie Garber
