After waiting for almost two hours, Sandra finally saw her opportunity when the man went to the bathroom. Seizing the chance, Sandra concocted a quick excuse to approach the woman. She turned to her colleague, “Hey, I think I left my pen near that seat by the window, mind if I check real quick while you handle this row?” Her voice was calm, masking the urgency she felt inside. Her colleague, busy with the cart and unaware of Sandra’s true intent, simply nodded, allowing Sandra to move toward the woman under the pretense of searching for a lost item.
Drawing a deep, steadying breath, Sandra discreetly slipped a pen into her pocket, adopting an air of nonchalance as she approached the woman’s seat. That’s when the peculiar detail that had initially piqued her interest became even clearer: the woman was making unusual hand gestures. Sandra remembered observing the same motions earlier, right when they were boarding and the man was busy with the overhead compartments. Here they were again, these deliberate, silent signals that seemed almost like a language of their own. It struck Sandra that the woman might be trying to communicate something important with these movements.