I didn’t expect a 13-hour flight to change my entire life. I boarded exhausted, ready to zone out with bad movies and worse airplane food. My seat was by the window. In the middle sat an elderly Japanese woman, clutching her boarding pass like it was a life raft. Her hands trembled every time the plane shuddered. When the flight attendant came around with forms and menus, she just stared down, confused. She didn’t speak English, and I didn’t speak Japanese. For a moment, we both just sat there in that awkward silence between strangers. Then I pulled out my...
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