(Author's Note: There is an image in this chapter. If you are reading this in offline mode, you won't be able to view it. Happy Reading!) 

Daniella isn't sure as to how to best react to the message as she stares at his message. He's not aware of what's going on, is he?

"He keeps sending the same message and it would be insane to insist that my reality is his reality. On the other hand, it would also be insane to force myself to go along with his sense of reality... right?"

Realizing that she left him on read, she quickly types on the phone.

Daniella

yep!

hbu?

Luca

?

😂😂😂

you good?

Daniella

yep!

"Type something before you seem suspicious," Daniella remarks to herself and returns to the phone.

Daniella

just anxious to get home!

i'll meet you at the airport in a few! love you!

Luca

love you too!

Daniella hearts the message and immediately turns off her phone.

A flight stewardess approaches her and awkwardly begins talking. "Excuse me Miss..."

"Yes?"

"It appears that we have overbooked your seat." Two kids pop behind the hostess as she finishes her sentence. Unaccompanied minors, to be specific.

"Ah."

"As an apology for the inconvenience, we would like to upgrade you to Business Class."

A smile breaks on to Daniella, who eagerly gets up. "I don't mind at all. Anything to help!"

Daniella happily follows the Stewardess into Business Class, which is empty and divine-looking. The Stewardess offers to take Daniella's belongings and place them in the overhead compartment. "Would you like a glass of champagne before takeoff?"

"Don't mind if I do." The flight attendant smiles and walks away.

As Daniella settles into her seat, she is given her drink. The champagne is also accompanied by warm wet towels for her hands.

"Oh my god, this feels like a spa treatment. now that's what I call flying in class! I can definitely get used to this!" she remarks to herself.

"Would you like another glass after we take off?" asks The Stewardess.

"Why not? Is there a limit?" Daniella asks her.

"Not at all as long as you can handle yourself!" The Stewardess answers with a wink.

Once the flight takes off, Daniella enjoys her glass of champagne while watching TENET... which seems to go black.

She jolts awake as the plane dips slightly.

"Oh god. I'm cursed, aren't I?! I should have never taken this trip. I'm never going to get home...!" she laments to herself as the same Stewardess approaches her.

"Sorry miss. Have you made your choice of meal yet?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Chicken or Fish?"

"Chicken?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes? Yes. I... I've been having nightmares and flying has been making me nervous lately."

"When are we landing?" Daniella asks her as she readjusts herself in her seat.

"Not for another hour" The flight attendant tells her in the calmest and kindest way, sympathy written all over her face.

"I'm sorry that I'm so unusually uneasy right now..."

"I understand. How about I get you another glass? It usually does the trick for me in calming my nerves."

"Sure. Thank you."

Realizing that she never finished her film, Daniella begins the movie from scratch.

15 minutes before the plane is set to land, the Stewardess offers Daniella one last glass, which she happily takes and drinks up.

Once the plane lands, Daniella straightens herself up as The Stewardess helps her remove her items from the overhead compartment.

"Regardless of what happens next, act normal..." she reminds herself as she pulls her phone from her purse and turns it back on.

Daniella

just landed. 😊

Once she's gone through customs and retrieved her suitcase, she takes a deep breath and steps out of the terminal gate. She looks around her, with no Luca in sight.

She sighs as she is suddenly startled by the sight of a gigantic teddy bear.

"Surprise!" exclaims a familiar deep voice.

"LUCA!" screams Daniella as she finds him behind the bear. Luca drops the bear, and Daniella attack hugs him. She hugs him tightly. The hug lasts a good minute until she lets go.

Picking up the bear, Luca says "I'll take your stuff, and you can hold on to the bear, alright?"

Daniella nods as she offers her purse, carry-on, and suitcase to Luca, who takes it and gives her the giant fluffy bear.

They walk all the way to their shared car. Luca straps the teddy bear into one of the passenger seats while Daniella settles into the front passenger seat. Immediately after putting on her seatbelt, her eyelids become heavy, but she keeps them wide open in an animated manner. Luca looks at her and chuckles in silence.

"It's okay to fall asleep. I'll wake you up when we get home," remarks Luca, who just buckled himself up in the driver's seat and noticed Daniella's state.

"Third time's the charm, I suppose. Finally. That was one for the books. Weirdest airport experience ever. Nobody is going to believe me!" she thinks to herself.

Daniella doesn't hear very much of the next sentence, let alone the engine starting.

She begins to hear her throat clear and lets out a snore that wakes her up. A series of complicated knots begin to form within her stomach and throat. Her eyes meet the dark, moody, clouds of early morning. She checks her phone. It's 6:09am.

A familiar voice comes onto the intercom:

"Good morning passengers. This is the boarding announcement for flight 77X. We are now inviting those passengers with small children and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes time. Thank you."

"No, No, No, No, No!" She screams out loud. "Damn it!"

On her feet, and agile in a blind heated panic, she grabs her stuff and runs away from the terminal.

"If I get on THAT plane, this will never end... But what about my suitcase?" she thinks to herself as she fanatically runs away from her terminal. "Eh, I'll deal with that when I get home."

Daniella finds herself running in the direction of her airline lounge. Once inside, she stuffs her face with a croissant as she ponders her next move. 

She places her phone down and continues to enjoy her warm, buttery, freshly baked croissant. She downs it with a warm cup of caffeinated hot chocolate.

"Caffeine is currently my best friend." she tells herself. "Oooh, I wonder if they have those chocolate covered-coffee beans at duty free? New plan: buy chocolate covered coffee beans, pop some in my mouth, and then arrange for new tickets on another flight."

As she leaves for the duty-free confection store, the intercom starts once again:

"This is a final boarding call for passenger Daniella Spencer booked on flight 77X. Please proceed to gate 3 immediately. The final checks are being completed and the captain will order for the doors of the aircraft to close in approximately five minutes time. I repeat. This is the final boarding call for Daniella Spencer. Thank you."

"Yeah. Screw that. Not happening! Not again!" she thinks to herself as she walks past the various terminals making her way to the duty-free area. At the first sight of a chocolate mention, Daniella struts right inside and looks for anything with the word "coffee" in it. She is even willing to settle for plain old coffee beans at this point. As she walks up and down the aisles like a runway, her phone receives a message. She almost forgot about that part.

Luca

all set? got everything? your boarding pass? your chargers? your socks?

As much as she would like to ignore the message and get her head together, she decides to open it despite a sinking feeling in her stomach. She slides the message to the right... but then her thumb slides the notification to the left. Her hand places her phone back into her purse and she continues walking... but backwards.

Daniella walks backwards down and up the aisle all the while dragging her suitcase. She tries to turn around, but even her eyes look at everything she previously looked out in reverse.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?" She asks herself. "Help? Help? Somebody please help me!"

No one around her answers, as they too move and speak back in motion. She tries her best to forcibly move against the motion, her muscles are stirring the rewind for her. She leaves the shop, struts past the terminals in reverse. In her peripheral vision, she even notices the planes taking off and landing backwards. The boarding passengers waddle back to their seats. As she continuously tries to call out to the people around her without avail, she settles on screaming both internal and externally as she hears the final boarding call:

".uoy knahT .recnepS alleinaD rof llac gnidraob lanif eht si sihT .taeper I .emit setunim evif yletamixorppa ni esolc ot tfarcria eht fo srood eht rof redro lliw niatpac eht dna detelpmoc gnieb era skcehc lanif ehT .yletaidemmi 3 etag ot deecorp esaelP .X77 thgilf no dekoob recnepS alleinaD regnessap rof llac gnidraob lanif a si sihT"

She finds herself back in the lounge. Her caffeinated hot chocolate comes up her throat and into the mug that she holds in her hand and places back down. Her second warm buttery freshly baked croissant returns back to her mouth as she unchews the food and places it back on her plate. She grabs her phone, and essentially untypes her brainstorming session. She un-eats her first croissant.

Before she even has time to compute what is going on again, she is sprinting in reverse. She huffs and puffs in reverse. She exits Gate 3 in reverse and returns back to her seat. She chants "!ti Nmad !on, on, on, on, oN" as she hears:

".uoy knahT .emit setunim net yletamixorppa ni nigeb lliw gnidraob ralugeR .ydaer noitacifitnedi dna ssap ruoy evah esaelP .emit siht ta gnidraob nigeb ot ,ecnatsissa laiceps gniriuqer sregnessap yna dna nerdlihc llams htiw sregnessap esoht gnitivni won era eW .X77 thgilf rof tnemecnuonna gnidraob eht si sihT .sregnessap gninrom dooG"

She rechecks her phone. It's 6:09am. Her eyes re-meet the dark and moody clouds outside.

Her eyes close, and everything seemingly settles down.

She suddenly feels in control once again. She voluntarily opens them and gasps and hyperventilates.

As Daniella tries to regain control of her body, she hears a child laughing.

Looking in the direction of the sound, she watches a small child gleefully run around the airport while holding a giant teddy bear as a pair of adults, presumably her parents, chase after her. The teddy bear, Daniella notes, looks exactly like the one Luca gave to her earlier.. or later? Or is it yesterday... Or tomorrow? She frowns at both the sight as well as her own pathetic confusion as she is once again back at Gate 3!

"The Universe is mocking me."

To be continued... 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Enjoy, Vote, Comment, Share, Follow, and Stay Tuned! Love hearing from you! Please comment!