Why were all the photos on my phone gone?
"Mervyn, where are you?!"
I was on the verge of a complete breakdown, screaming like a madwoman.
Cecily and the other flight attendants kept trying to calm me down.
"Ma'am, your behavior is seriously disturbing the other passengers. Please return to your seat immediately and remain quiet."
I shook my head frantically.
"No, my boyfriend is missing. I have to find him!"
My continued outburst forced the plane into an emergency landing at the nearest airport.
The moment the cabin door opened, several airport police officers stepped aboard.
Cecily rushed forward immediately, pointing at me as she addressed the team leader.
"This is the one, Captain Gray. She boarded alone, but she keeps insisting her boyfriend vanished from the plane. She refused to listen to reason and caused a disturbance, disrupting all the other passengers."
I didn't want to be sent back to the psychiatric hospital, so I forced myself to stay as calm as possible.
"Officer, I wasn't causing trouble. I was looking for my boyfriend. His name is Mervyn James. He definitely boarded this plane with me, but now he's gone."
"He has to still be on board somewhere. Please, I'm begging you—help me find him."
After my repeated pleas, Captain Clyde Gray finally agreed to search the aircraft.
They were thorough. Every inch. But in the end, they found no trace of Mervyn.
Captain Gray studied me with a measured look, his voice grave.
"We've searched this plane inside and out. We even checked every passenger's luggage. There's no sign of this boyfriend you're describing."
"A living, breathing person doesn't just vanish from an airplane. Are you certain he actually boarded with you?"
Tears pricked at my eyes. "I'm certain."
"I took photos of everything—us boarding together, all of it. I posted them to my social media and sent them to my family group chat. The posts and records are gone now, but my parents and friends all saw them."
Seeing how earnest I was, Captain Gray made a call to my parents on the spot.
But when he asked if they'd seen the photos I'd shared in the family chat, my mother's voice came through confused.
"What photos? I never saw any."
"Besides, my daughter has always been single. She's never had a boyfriend!"
My head rang like a bell had been struck inside my skull.
I grabbed for the phone, my voice shaking with disbelief.
"Mom, what are you talking about? You knew I'd been with Mervyn for three years! You were waiting for me to bring him home to meet you!"
My mother went quiet for two seconds, then sounded even more bewildered.
"Mia, what on earth are you saying? Your father and I have been nagging you to find a boyfriend for years, and you always told us you weren't interested in dating."
"You've been single all this time. How could you possibly have a boyfriend you've been with for three years?"
I'd always been single?
Why was my mother denying my relationship—exactly like she had in my previous life?
But I'd posted to social media this time. My friends could vouch for me.
I turned to Captain Gray, desperation clawing at my throat.
"My friends can confirm it! I posted about it—they all knew I was boarding with my boyfriend today, that I was bringing him home to meet my parents!"
Captain Gray contacted the friends who had commented on my posts, using the information I provided.
But the responses came back identical.
"What posts? I never saw anything like that."
"Mia's famously single in our friend group. How could she possibly have a boyfriend?"
"I've known her since we were kids. I've never once heard about her having a boyfriend, let alone posting couple photos online. That's just not possible."
