She could tell that her uniform drew attention she could do without. She was used to the stares that it drew, but this was different and she didn’t like it one bit. She realized the stranger was walking towards her.
He was tall, with striking features and sparkling blue eyes. He was dressed immaculately in a suit and tie. She couldn’t help but notice that he was rather handsome.
Jessica sighed, looking around at all the people crammed into their seats with no leg room. It was going to be a long flight. She walked down the aisle until she found her seat.
It felt like her muscles were already complaining. She started to settle down when a man started to walk straight towards her. He blocked her and then spoke. She knew she had to act fast.
Jessica was on a flight back to the US from undergoing strenuous military training. Training that had prepared her for every situation.
But when the tall man strode towards her, she seemed to forget everything she had learned. She was nervous. What did this man want from her? This day was about to get intense.
Many people find flying overwhelming. Being cramped up in a small space among other passengers can even be frightening. And although Jessica was ok with flying, she didn’t particularly enjoy it.
Still, it’s the fastest way to travel so she couldn’t complain. Little did she know however, that today’s flight would offer much more than time-saving!
Jessica sacrificed a lot to enlist and protect her country and its citizens. As a military officer, bravery and dedication are her two most profound traits that she uses to ensure that her country is safe from harm.
Often, her individual efforts go unappreciated by the general public. But on this particular day, she caught the attention of one man.
Business and first-class plane tickets are a luxury only some of us can afford. And even though we would all love to be able to travel in comfort, many of us simply can’t. And Jessica was no different.
She glanced over to the spacious business class seats longingly as she made her way to her seat, unaware that someone was watching her very intently.
Jessica slung her heavy bag over her shoulder as she made her way to the back of the plane. She looked at her ticket, she was to be seated in 31-B.
As she walked down the long aisle, she noticed people beginning looking at her. She found it odd until she remembered she was wearing her uniform. She stuck out like a sore thumb when she was wearing her But that wasn’t the reason at all.
While Jessica was trying to find her seat, she had no idea that someone was quietly talking to the air hostess about her. She lugged her belongings down the aisle until her seat was finally in sight.
She hefted her shoulder bag into the overhead compartment and sat down, waiting for takeoff. But ten minutes soon became fifteen, and then twenty. The plane’s takeoff was running late.
Usually, flights are delayed because of bad weather conditions, but today the sky was a clear, crystal blue. Jessica had a strange feeling that something wasn’t right about this flight, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake it.
Looking for a flight attendant to ask why the flight was delayed, she was startled to see none in sight. Then, she heard a nervous whisper from behind. Just what was going on?
Craning her neck, Jessica spotted the cabin crew and noticed that they were also acting strangely. They all rushed to a corner of the plane and huddled, speaking in furtive whispers.
What on earth was going on? With effort, Jessica overheard them talking about one of the passengers. A man that was moving with purpose, straight towards her.
Now, she was used to all the attention by this point, people just stare when they see people in uniform. Little did she know the attention she’d get today would be unlike any other she’d experienced.
Even though she was used to it she still felt a little uneasy. So she decided to ignore the unwanted attention while trying and failing to ignore the tall, handsome man walking straight towards her.
Her muscles knotted with tension. All of Jessica’s training in the army had given her a keen sense for trouble, and she didn’t want any today.
Even while she was off duty she was always scanning her surroundings for any kind of threat. Once spotted, her training would kick in like muscle memory. But when she saw him, she forgot everything.
He approached her. He was tall, with fine features and sparkling blue eyes, immaculate in a dress suit and tie. She couldn’t help but notice that he was rather handsome.
She briefly thought that he was going to ask for her number, he had a confident gait and sense of purpose. She had been approached by men like him many times. But all her experience and training didn’t prepare her for what happened next.
Jessica’s mind raced as the man strode toward her. It seemed like hours before he finally reached her. Then, he opened his mouth to speak, looking directly into her eyes.
She thought he would confirm her suspicion of obnoxiously asking her out, she thought she saw his intentions written on his face. But then, he said something completely unexpected.
The tall stranger gestured to Jessica’s seat before taking a step closer. Then, he matter-of-factly informed her that her seat was taken. Jessica looked around for assistance before shaking her head, incredulous.
Her eyes widened as he insisted, stating that she was in his seat. “How dare he?”, she thought angrily. Now exasperated, he rolled his eyes and said, “What does your ticket say?”.
“What? No, I’m 31 B”, Jessica argued. She looked at her boarding pass again, and she was right. It was clearly printed 31-B. She wasn’t about to be bullied by this man.
Who did he think he was? Just what game was he playing? She looked at the flight attendants who had gathered around her, but they just nodded their heads.
The handsome stranger then started to explain to her that because she was a military officer, she couldn’t have that seat. He continued to tell her that he admired her for all her hard work protecting their country, but he needed her to sit somewhere else.
Jessica listened, confused, and then she was completely blindsided.
The man said that he would be obliged if she took his seat in business class instead. He wanted to repay her for all she has done and continues to do.
Jessica tried to refuse the man’s generous offer multiple times, but he was persistent. Eventually, she relented and made her way up the aisle. But this was just the beginning.
Jessica was incredulous at the day’s unexpected turn of events, and as she saw the large, plush seats in business class, she realized just how tired her body really was.
She had been training for days on end before this flight. She felt tender everywhere, and her body craved the rest and comfort her new seat provided. But there was one problem.
Jessica couldn’t wait to get home so she could finally have some much-needed rest, but then the generous stranger had given her the best gift she could ever have asked for.
As she stretched her legs out in front of her and reclined, she couldn’t stop thinking about the man who had given up his seat for her.
The tall stranger had been much broader and larger than she was. She reasoned that if she was uncomfortable in the small economy seats, he was going to be even more cramped.
She felt an overwhelming sense of guilt, so she thought carefully about how she could brighten his day and make his journey a little more enjoyable.
She wondered about what she could do for the kind stranger, and then she spoke to the flight attendant. Unfortunately, it seemed as if there wasn’t much she could do as she couldn’t send him a glass of champagne from business class to economy.
She had to come up with an idea and fast. Suddenly, something came to her mind.
Jessica could only guess at how uncomfortable the mystery man could be in his new seat, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. She could try to give him his business class seat back, but she was sure he would refuse.
So she grabbed a piece of paper, attached a $20 bill, and wrote him a note. She gave it to the stewardess and asked her to deliver it.
When the man opened up the note and read it, his eyes widened in disbelief. It read: “If everyone treated people the way you treated the service-woman, the world would be a better place.”
And the attached $20 was included so he could have a drink and a snack. But the man refused any kind of repayment.
This story about a kind stranger proves that there really are good people out there. We just don’t always capture their small gestures of kindness, and share it online!
When Jessica’s story was shared on social media, the anonymous man received all the thanks and credit he deserved. We need more people like that in the world today!
However, the man was quick to send another note back to Jessica. When she read it, she couldn’t help but smile. He had another proposition instead.
He said that he would be honored if she agreed to meet with him over dinner when their flight landed. Was he asking her on a date? Her stomach started to flutter as she wrote her reply.
Jessica accepted the offer from the generous stranger, after all, how could she decline? It was his act of giving up his seat in business class that had made all her exhaustion melt away as she got some much-needed rest.
The pair met at a restaurant shortly after their flight landed. Jessica never could have dreamed that that fateful flight would turn into something of a fairytale romance.
Jessica had never thought that her bad day would yield so much goodness. But the mysterious stranger hadn’t just caught Jessica’s attention, there was another passenger on the flight that day who took notice of what was happening.
She snapped a picture of the incident and shared it to Facebook, where it quickly went viral.
Another passenger by the name of Jessica Titus had witnessed everything that day, and she just had to share the story on social media.
She was incredibly touched by the man’s display of compassion and empathy, and so were all who read her post. Within the space of an hour, her Facebook post had been shared over 4,000 times!
Hundreds of people from all over the world commented and shared similar stories. One woman named Kate Nixon said that a similar act of kindness happened to her military husband while he was heading back to Kansas, too.
But most people just expressed their gratitude at learning that small, kind deeds do happen in the world…
“Now that’s what I would call world-class appreciation and if we share a little bit of kindness, we make so much difference and it doesn’t cost any money but we spread humanity, respect and love,” one user commented.
“We brought up two lovely young women to greet people when passing them by. Because we have the power to brighten anybody’s day regardless of the circumstances.”
“This warms my heart, my son just returned from deployment in Afghanistan. On one of his flights he too was given a first-class seat,” another user commented. “This was a God Sent action because he was able to relax for the first time in over a year. His unit took 200 mortar fires every day, the constant barrage and the sound of the defensive guns shooting them out of the air caused a touch of PTSD. ”
“…The person that gave up their seat will never know the gratitude from this mother who will never forget them. God Bless You!”she concluded. But not all people were so positive…
“Why don’t all the airlines routinely give service people first-class tickets? Big deal, they let them board first like handicapped and people with small children!” one user wrote.
Other users were quick to correct him, though: “Kendralee Murphy that is incorrect! The military pays a service member a certain amount of travel per diem to purchase a civilian airline ticket when going from one duty station to another.”
And some netizens were skeptical that the story happened at all.
“I don’t doubt these actions occur, but I doubt this specific good deed occurred. No mention of the airline. Sure wasn’t Delta! The name of the person sitting in a particular seat must match the name on the boarding pass. Ref: Recent story about a couple who put their infant in their son’s seat on Delta (who took an earlier flight).”
“I’m a doubting Thomas. Maybe it’s because I rarely, if ever, see any good deeds around where I live,” the user added.
The woman who witnessed it, Jessica Titus, was quick to correct him too, though: “Yes, it was a Delta flight, and it did occur, because it’s my story,” she replied.
