From the ticket check to boarding the plane, to settling into my seat, to the cabin doors sealing shut—I documented every step.

Then I posted a nine-photo collage to my social media.

Caption: "Boarded! Bringing my boyfriend home~ ️"

The moment it went live, likes and well-wishes flooded in:

"So sweet! Wishing you two forever!"

"Wow, finally meeting the parents—congrats!"

"Safe travels! I can't wait for the wedding!"

Just to be safe, I also took a photo of Mervyn and me holding up our boarding passes together and sent it to the family group chat.

"Mom, Dad—Mervyn and I are on the plane. We'll land in three hours."

My mom replied instantly: "Finally getting to meet our future son-in-law! Your dad and I already bought groceries—just waiting for you two to come home!"

Seeing her response and the dozens of congratulatory comments on my post, I finally let out a breath.

Now no one can say I don't have a boyfriend, right?

When the plane took off, the flight attendant asked everyone to switch their phones to airplane mode, then began distributing drinks.

When she reached my row, Flight Attendant Chavez—just like in my previous life—got bumped by another passenger and accidentally spilled some orange juice on me.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry."

Cecily Chavez apologized profusely, reaching to clean the juice off my clothes.

But Mervyn beat her to it, grabbing napkins and gently dabbing at the stain.

"It's fine—I'll take care of my girlfriend."

Seeing this, Cecily smiled politely, then turned to me with an envious look.

"Your boyfriend is so thoughtful."

I stared at her, unblinking.

In my previous life, she'd said the exact same thing.

But after Mervyn vanished, when I asked if she'd seen my boyfriend, she'd looked at me with complete bewilderment:

"Miss, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I clearly saw you board alone."

To prevent Cecily from changing her story again, I grabbed her hand and smiled with a request:

"Could I ask you for a small favor?"

Cecily looked confused. "What kind of favor?"

I pulled out my phone, my expression earnest.

"This is my first time bringing my boyfriend home to meet my parents. I want to document this trip properly—would you mind taking a photo with the two of us?"

"Just as a little memento."

Cecily nodded without hesitation.

"Of course."

With that, Mervyn, Cecily, and I posed for a photo together.

I saved the picture carefully, then turned my attention to the elderly man sitting in the aisle seat nearest to us—Stuart Finch, who looked to be around seventy.

His seat was the closest to ours. In my previous life, he'd nearly fallen while trying to lift his luggage into the overhead bin, and Mervyn had caught him just in time, helping him stow it away. The old man had thanked Mervyn repeatedly.

So when I'd gone around asking passengers if they'd seen Mervyn, he was the first person I approached.

But he'd insisted that the seat beside me had been empty the entire flight. That no one had ever sat there.

To make sure he'd remember Mervyn this time, I gently tapped Mr. Finch on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir?"

He looked at me, puzzled. "Yes?"

I gestured nervously toward Mervyn in the seat beside me.

"I was wondering—what do you think of my boyfriend's appearance?"

"My parents haven't met him yet, and I'm a little nervous."

Mr. Finch studied Mervyn carefully, then nodded with approval.

"Young man's quite handsome. You two make a fine couple."

"Your parents will definitely approve."

Hearing his answer, I thanked him and fell into deep thought.

Both Stuart Finch and Cecily Chavez had reacted completely naturally—nothing in their tone or eyes suggested any resistance or evasion.

So where was the problem?

Why had they, in my previous life, insisted so adamantly that they'd never seen Mervyn after clearly having met him?

To maximize Mervyn's presence, I pulled him up from his seat.

Under his puzzled gaze, I addressed the entire cabin:

"Sorry to interrupt everyone for a moment."

"Today is a very important day—I'm bringing my boyfriend home to meet my parents for the first time. We've been together for three years, and we're planning to get engaged after this visit."

"Being on this flight with all of you at thirty thousand feet feels like a special kind of fate, so I was hoping you could give us your blessings. Would that be okay?"

Every passenger on the plane turned to look at us.

No one hesitated. Warm applause and well-wishes filled the cabin:

"Congratulations! Wishing you happiness forever!"

"What a sweet couple! May you have a hundred years of harmony!"

"And babies soon!"

Amid the chorus of blessings, Mervyn broke into a sweet smile.

His cheeks flushed as he thanked everyone, then quickly pulled me back down into my seat.

"Mia, what's gotten into you today?" he asked, bewildered. "Being so public about it—you're making me blush."

I gripped his hand tightly and said with complete seriousness:

"I'm just so afraid of losing you."

Now everyone on this plane was our witness.

I refused to believe anything could go wrong.

Hearing this, Mervyn reached over and gently stroked my hair.

"Silly girl. I love you so much—how could I ever let you lose me?"

"Is it because you're nervous about me meeting your parents?"

To ease my anxiety, he pulled out a banana from his carry-on—my favorite snack.

He carefully peeled it and held it to my lips. "Stop overthinking. Eat something. We've still got over an hour before we land."

I stared at the banana he was offering, and my breath caught.

In my previous life, this was the exact moment I'd gotten up to use the restroom because I needed to pee. When I came back, Mervyn was gone.

All that remained was this banana, already peeled.

Right now, I could feel the pressure in my bladder too—but I didn't dare leave my seat.

I took a bite of the banana and clutched Mervyn's hand even tighter.

"From now on, you don't leave my sight. Not even for a second."

Mervyn chuckled helplessly. "Okay, okay. I won't leave your side."

The words had barely left his mouth when the plane lurched violently.

"Attention, passengers. We are experiencing severe turbulence due to strong air currents. Please fasten your seatbelts, hold onto your armrests, and remain seated."

As the announcement played, the shaking intensified.

The cabin lights began flickering wildly.

Then everything went dark.

Everyone gripped their armrests, frozen in place, too terrified to move.

Two seconds later, the lights came back on.

The plane steadied.

Heart still pounding, my first instinct was to grab the arm beside me.

But my hand closed on empty air.

I whipped my head around.

Mervyn's seat was empty.

Mervyn was gone.

He'd been holding my hand just seconds ago.

How could he have vanished in the blink of an eye?

Sheer panic crashed over me. I tore off my seatbelt and shot to my feet, frantically scanning the cabin.

I searched everywhere—every seat, the aisle, the bathroom, even under the seats.

Nothing.

He was nowhere.

Mervyn had vanished again.

"Flight attendant! Flight attendant!"

I called out frantically. Cecily rushed over immediately. "What's wrong?"

I pointed at Mervyn's seat, my voice trembling.

"My boyfriend is gone!"

"He was right here during the turbulence, but the moment the lights went out, he disappeared!"

Cecily frowned, glancing at the empty seat with a puzzled expression.

"Ma'am, are you sure you're not mistaken? We only saw you board alone. We never saw any boyfriend."

Again.

That same blank, confused look.

That same identical answer.

My heart pounded. I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through my photos, my voice rising.

"How could you not have seen my boyfriend? You just took a photo with him—"

The words died in my throat.

The photo—the one Mervyn and I had just taken with Cecily—was gone.

And it wasn't just that one. The grid of photos I'd posted to my social media, the messages and pictures I'd sent to my family group chat—all of it had vanished.

What was happening?

"Ma'am, I don't know what photo you're talking about, but I really haven't seen this boyfriend of yours." Cecily's tone was patient but firm. "The plane is currently in flight. Please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt."

I didn't move. Instead, I turned to Stuart, desperate for confirmation.

"Sir, you saw my boyfriend just now, didn't you? You said he was handsome. You said my parents would definitely approve of him."

Stuart looked up at me, his face a mask of bewilderment.

"Young lady, what are you talking about? When did I ever compliment your boyfriend? I've never even seen him." He gestured at the seat beside me. "From the moment we boarded, you've been sitting here alone. That seat has been empty the entire time. No one's sat there."

His tone was so matter-of-fact, so utterly certain.

And that certainty made everything feel more wrong.

"That's impossible," I insisted. "You complimented him yourself. My boyfriend has been with me this whole time—you couldn't have missed him."

The other passengers began to stare, their gazes sharp with suspicion.

"Miss, I remember you boarding alone too."

"That seat next to you has been empty since takeoff. What boyfriend?"

"Maybe the turbulence scared you? Could you be... confused? Seeing things?"

I looked at all those doubting eyes and felt my sanity slipping.

"You all clapped for us! You congratulated us! You wished us a lifetime of happiness together!"

"Don't you remember?!"

One by one, they shook their heads, their expressions blank.

"Congratulations? No, nothing like that."

"It's been quiet this whole flight. Nobody said anything about blessings."

"Miss, you don't look well. Maybe you should sit down and rest."

Their voices overlapped, casual and calm, their eyes clear and guileless.

As if the applause, the well-wishes, the celebration of my engagement to Mervyn—none of it had ever happened.

But how could that be?

I remembered every moment. Every detail. I couldn't have imagined it.

A living, breathing person doesn't just vanish at thirty thousand feet.

So why was everyone saying the same thing?

Why did they all insist they'd never seen him?