Emergence

As I was scrolling through movies and shows to download, a couple came and sat next to me in the chairs my parents had just left. I took my headphones out and said, "Sorry, those seats are taken."

The man, who was about the same age as my Dad I guessed, looked at me and smiled but made no attempt to move. The woman, who was sitting in the seat further away, didn't acknowledge that I had said anything at all.

"Excuse me," I said, still politely and slowly, thinking that perhaps they didn't speak English or didn't hear me properly. "My Dad will be back at any moment." Again, it was only the man who acknowledged me.

"Your father is a long way away," he began, with no sign of the friendliness from a moment ago. His voice had a hiss to it that was almost aggressive. "You are alone."

He was starting to annoy me now. Who refuses to move like that and who speaks like that to a stranger? He had a strong accent, maybe European I guessed, so maybe they had different rules where he was from.

"Please," I urged. "They are not far away and will want their seats back when they return." There was an edge to my own voice now. If I showed him I was beginning to become annoyed, maybe that would help.

There was a gleam in his eyes and a slight twitch of his lips like he was holding back a laugh. I gave a long audible sigh and frowned at him.

"Your father is returning, Envy," he enunciated quietly. "When he does, we'll be ready for him."

My heart skipped a beat and my eyes instantly flicked around to take in my surroundings. I felt like I was about to be in danger, but it was a very busy, public place. Surely this weirdo wasn't going to try anything here.

He was smiling again when my eyes returned to his face.

"How do you know my name?" I asked, controlling my voice carefully.

"Stop scaring the poor girl, Howard," the woman next to him said, speaking up for the first time but still not looking in my direction. "He saw it on your luggage tag."

"Maude, you always ruin everything. I was just teasing her."

"Well, you were on the verge of getting arrested," she admonished him. "Let's just move and let the girl's parents come back." She stood.

"Thank you," I said, still freaked out and wanting them to leave and Dad to come back sooner rather than later.

He simply frowned and allowed his wife to pull him away. I watched them for a moment before returning to my tablet. The interaction had bothered me a little bit in the moment, but the more I thought about it, the more unsettled I felt.

[…]

Dad returned and no more than five minutes later our flight began boarding. We stood up to take our place in the line with everyone else and as I extended the handle on my carry-on bag, I noticed the luggage tag.

E. Black

We lined up in the economy line with everyone else, which is when I saw them. The weird couple were walking down the business class queue. The man, Howard, made eye contact with me as he approached our place in the queue.

"Have a safe flight," he hissed as he reached me.

I whirled around to my Dad, "Did you see that guy just now?" I asked him. Dad looked where I was pointing, his eyes searching.

"Where?"

I looked back to the queue but there was no one in the queue at all. I tried to make sense of it. "Did you hear him say something as he walked past?"

"Envy," he started, an air of concern to his tone, his eyes searching the queue again, "No-one walked by."

I didn't reply.