I looked down. Both legs were well within my space. I pressed my knees together anyway.
Ten minutes later, she announced she needed the restroom. I unbuckled, got up, and stepped into the aisle so she could get by.
“Why does it take you so long just to stand up?” she snapped as she squeezed past. “People should know their size and think about everybody else.”
My face went hot.
Usually I have a comeback for everything. But after the breathing, the snack, the leg, and now this, I had nothing. Not a single word.
When she came back, she flagged down a flight attendant.
“Excuse me. Aren’t people like her supposed to buy two tickets? I’m being crushed over here!”
The attendant looked carefully at both of our seats.
“Ma’am, she’s sitting entirely within her own space.”
“Are you blind? Look at her!”
I started to say something, but the attendant turned to me with a gentle expression.
“There’s an open seat a little farther back. Would you prefer to move?”
I hesitated. I’d paid for that aisle seat. And the last thing I wanted was to reward behavior like that.
But five more hours of it?
“All right,” I sighed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my neighbor smile like she’d just won a prize.
I reached under the seat for my carry-on. And that’s when I remembered what was inside it.
Just like that, the sting went away. In fact, I had to bite my lip to keep from grinning. Because a truly wicked idea had just walked into my head and made itself comfortable.
Part 3
I unzipped the bag and gently unwrapped my grandson’s present.
It was a doll about the size of a toddler. She had a cracked face that looked like old porcelain, a nest of tangled black hair, and a crooked grin that showed two rows of yellowed teeth. Her little hands ended in fingers that were far too long. Her Victorian dress looked like it had spent a few decades in a graveyard.
She was absolutely hideous.
My grandson was going to love her.
She’d come with a small remote control, which I quietly slipped into my cardigan pocket.
Then I sat her down in my old aisle seat and tucked my travel blanket up around her, so only a few wisps of black hair poked out the top.
My neighbor didn’t even look up. She was busy scrolling her phone, no doubt enjoying her victory.
I gathered my things and walked back to my new seat.
I had barely sat down when a scream tore through the cabin.
“WHAT IS THAT?!”
She’d pulled the blanket back and come face to face with my little friend.
Heads were turning all over the cabin. I leaned out into the aisle.
“Oh, you found my grandson’s present!”
“Your WHAT?!“
“It’s a Halloween gift,” I said brightly. “He adores scary things. Isn’t she precious?”
“PRECIOUS?! That thing looks possessed!“
I put a hand to my chest. “Well, that’s not a very kind thing to say about a lady.”
Somebody across the aisle snorted.
“Get it away from me!” she shrieked, waving wildly for the flight attendant.
The attendant hurried over. “What seems to be the problem, ma’am?”
“That!” She jabbed a finger at the doll. “I want that disgusting thing removed. Now!”
The attendant looked at the doll. Then she looked at me.
“Is this yours?”
“It is. And I’m happy to secure her properly.”
The attendant explained that the doll was perfectly allowed on board, as long as it was safely secured. With her blessing, I walked back up and buckled my little monster into the seat belt.
“I can’t sit next to that horrible thing!” my former neighbor protested.
“Ma’am,” the attendant said patiently, “you asked for your seatmate to move. She did.”
I gave the woman my kindest smile.
“Don’t worry. She’s a lot smaller than I am. You’ll have plenty of room now.”
Several rows burst out laughing. Her face went the color of a tomato.
I walked back to my new seat feeling very pleased with myself.
Then my fingers brushed the remote in my pocket.
And I remembered that my grandson’s new friend still had a few tricks left.
Part 4
The remote had three small buttons, each with its own little symbol. I remembered the shop clerk demonstrating them for me when I bought the doll.
I pressed the first one.
From my old seat came a low, rattling wheeze.
“Khhhhhh… hhhhhh… khhhhh…”
The woman went rigid. Very slowly, she turned to look at the doll.
The crooked grin hadn’t moved an inch.
“Hhhhh… khhhh… haaaaa…”
She waved frantically for the attendant. I let go of the button.
“That thing is breathing!“
The attendant bent down and studied the perfectly still doll.
“Ma’am, it’s a toy.”
“I know it’s a toy! It’s making noises!”
The attendant leaned in and listened.
Silence.
“Maybe you heard another passenger. Please try to keep your voice down. People are trying to rest.”
I waited until she was gone. Then I counted to sixty and pressed the button again.
“Khhhhhh… hhhhh…”
“Stop it!” The woman gripped both armrests. “Stop it!”
The man across the aisle lowered his book. “Excuse me. Are you talking to the doll?”
“It’s making sounds!”
He tilted his head and listened. I’d already let go of the button.
“Well,” he said mildly, “right now, you’re making a lot more noise than it is.”
She shot him a look that could have curdled milk. I quickly lifted my magazine to hide my face.
Too late. She whipped around in her seat and spotted me.
“You! You’re doing this!”
I lowered the magazine. “Me? I’m all the way back here.”
“You left that horrible thing next to me on purpose!”
“Well, you did say you were uncomfortable sitting next to me.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to sit next to a monster!“
I gave her my sweetest grandmotherly smile.
“I thought you wanted someone smaller. I even found you one who doesn’t need snacks.”
The man across the aisle laughed out loud. My former neighbor looked like she might actually explode.
And I still hadn’t touched the other two buttons.
Part 5
Eventually, things settled down. The flight attendant came over the speaker.
“Ladies and gentlemen, since this is an overnight flight, we’ll be dimming the cabin lights shortly. Please lower your window shades so everyone can get some rest.”
My former seatmate yanked her shade down with a huff.
The lights dimmed. Reading lamps clicked off one by one. Blankets came out, seats eased back, and the whole cabin finally went quiet. Even she stopped complaining.
From where I sat, I could just make out the doll’s silhouette beside her, still as stone.
That’s when I thought about the second button.
I’d tested it at home before packing. It made those awful little eyes glow bright red, as if something evil had just woken up inside her. My grandson was going to lose his mind over that feature.
I touched the remote in my pocket and hesitated. Maybe I’d had enough fun for one night.
Then I remembered being compared to a broken vacuum cleaner.
I pressed the button.
Two blood-red eyes blinked on in the darkness.
The woman turned her head.
For two beautiful seconds, she didn’t make a sound.
Then she let out a scream so loud I was half convinced the pilots heard it through the cockpit door.
“IT’S LOOKING AT ME!”
The cabin came alive. A man who’d been sound asleep jerked upright and sent his pillow flying. Someone dropped a phone. Someone else thrashed around trying to escape a blanket.
“What’s happening?” a voice called out. “Are we landing?!”
My former seatmate was flattened against the window, pointing a shaking finger at the doll.
“Its eyes! They were red! I saw them!”
Naturally, my thumb was already off the button.
The flight attendant rushed over and flipped on the overhead lights. And there sat my grandson’s doll, looking as innocent as anything with cracked skin and rotten teeth possibly could.
“Ma’am, what is it now?”
“Its eyes were glowing! Bright red! Like something out of a horror movie!”
The attendant leaned in close. The doll didn’t so much as twitch.
“I’m not seeing anything unusual.”
“Because it stopped! I’m telling you, it was staring right at me!”
From somewhere across the aisle, a man muttered, “Maybe it doesn’t like your perfume.”
Laughter rippled through the rows. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard it nearly hurt.
Then she spun around and pointed straight at me.
“She’s controlling it! I know she is!”
I looked up with wide, innocent eyes. “Controlling what?”
“The doll! She’s making it do things!”
I raised my eyebrows. “I’ve just been sitting here quietly. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Get that thing out of here!” she demanded. “I’m not spending one more minute next to it!”
The attendant looked my way. “Ma’am, if your doll has any electronic features, could you please make sure they’re switched off? Everyone needs to rest.”
“Of course,” I said sweetly. “I’d never dream of disturbing anyone.”
The woman let out an outraged gasp.
I tucked the remote deeper into my pocket.
Part 6
She wasn’t done.
“I want that doll confiscated! Put it somewhere I don’t have to look at it!”
The attendant’s patience was nothing short of heroic.
“Ma’am, we can’t confiscate a permitted item just because you don’t like how it looks. Its electronic features will stay switched off.”
“That’s ridiculous! She’s been tormenting me!”
The attendant folded her hands.
“Ma’am, this passenger gave up her seat because you said you were uncomfortable. Since then, we’ve had several complaints about your shouting.”
The woman stared at her. “So you’re taking her side?”
“I’m trying to make sure everyone can enjoy the rest of the flight.”
The man sitting behind her leaned forward. “That lady hasn’t bothered a soul since she moved. You’re the one waking everybody up.”
Another passenger chuckled. “At least the doll isn’t complaining about how much space it needs.”
Laughter spread through the nearby rows.
The woman looked around, clearly waiting for someone, anyone, to come to her defense.
Nobody did.
“Fine!” she snapped. “Then I’m moving!”
The attendant found her an empty seat much farther down the cabin. She grabbed her handbag and phone, muttering something about being stuck on a plane full of lunatics.
When she reached my row, she stopped and bent toward me.
“You’re a horrible woman,” she hissed.
I gave her the warmest smile I had.
“And you have a wonderful Halloween.”
She stalked off without another word and vanished behind the curtain between the cabin sections.
I looked up toward my old seat. My little porcelain-faced friend was still sitting there, grinning that crooked grin.
For once, I couldn’t have agreed with her more.
Once the coast was clear, I caught the flight attendant’s eye.
“Would it be all right if I moved back to my original seat?”
“Of course, ma’am. Just please keep the doll switched off and put her away.”
“Absolutely. She’s caused enough excitement for one night.”
I collected my little monster, tucked her snugly back into my carry-on, and settled into my aisle seat. For the first time since boarding, I actually relaxed.
A few minutes later, the attendant brought me a cup of water. Her eyes landed on the tangle of black hair sticking out of my bag.
“Your grandson must have quite a sense of humor.”
I grinned. “Oh, he gets that from me.”
She laughed and moved on down the aisle.
I leaned back and closed my eyes, picturing my grandchildren’s faces when they saw their costumes. I could almost feel their skinny little arms wrapped around my neck.
Then I gave my carry-on an affectionate pat.
I’d bought that doll to give my grandson the scare of his life.
Turns out she’d already given me the best flight of mine.
What This Story Taught Me
Cruelty usually counts on silence. It expects the person on the receiving end to shrink, apologize, and quietly get out of the way.
Sometimes stepping aside really is the right call. But stepping aside doesn’t mean you have to disappear. You can give up a seat without giving up your dignity, and you can answer meanness with a little mischief instead of more meanness.
And when you treat people with kindness, it’s remarkable how many strangers will be on your side when it counts.
Note: This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment purposes. Names, places, and details are invented, and any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.
