A high-flying connection

FLYING from Istanbul to Houston a 13-hour long flight a gentle 20-something presses against my knees to claim the window seat.

She wears a mask, so I can't see her face. I smile at the neat braid of jet-black hair resting on her rose-pink jacketed shoulder. I hear an American accent and guess out her age from her tender slimness. Small talk leaks into the small gap between our seats but soon starts flowing into a river of connection.