Page 9 of A Snowed in Valentine's

The woman, who’d been fumbling with her keys, whirled about at the sound of her voice.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, dear,” she said with a chuckle. “I was trying to get into my apartment, but I dropped my things. I’m such a klutz. I hope I didn’t startle you. I must have…”

Her voice trailed off, and she blinked at Daphne as though she’d just dropped from space. “Daphne?”

Daphne blinked back.

“You…” Mrs. Elliot’s eyes widened. “You’re not supposed to be here. I thought you mentioned you were traveling, going to Chicago.”

The older woman’s eyebrow rose with curiosity. Normally, Daphne avoided lengthy conversations with the other neighbors in the apartment building, but these weren’t normal times. Something strange was going on.

“I did,” she replied, nodding.

“Well, I’m guessing you missed your flight, or did you cancel it?” Mrs. Elliot waved her hand. “What matters is that you’re safe.”

“Huh?”

The woman frowned. “Haven’t you heard? It’s all over the news. A plane went missing yesterday. Flight 18. Daystar Airlines. I reckon that must be the plane you were supposed to be on.” She shook her head. “You are one lucky girl, you know that?”

But Daphne simply said, “Iwason that plane.”

She shouldn’t have said that. But when her neighbor shot her a confused, curious stare, she couldn’t help but explain. She had no idea what was happening. For all she knew, thiswassome sort of dream. “Look, I don’t know how I got back there. I was on the plane when it crashed.”

“Crashed?”

Daphne nodded. “And I think it was my fault.”

Mrs. Elliot stared blankly at her for a moment. Daphne thought she saw the woman’s face go pale. Then, a small smile appeared on her neighbor’s lips, barely reaching her eyes. She jingled her keys in one hand.

“I… I just remembered something,” she said, not meeting Daphne’s eyes. “I think I forgot to pick up dog food.”

With that, she headed down the hall, glancing over her shoulder a couple of times before she disappeared.

Great going, Daphne. You’ve spooked an old woman.

But she had greater concerns now. Mrs. Elliot’s words echoed in her head.A plane went missing yesterday.

So thathadhappened. The whole accident with Flight 18 had been real. And it happened yesterday. So how the heck was she back here instead of on Frost Mountain?

She stood outside in the hallway for what felt like three consecutive eternities, then hurried back into her apartment and turned on the TV, flicking through the channels. Sure enough, it was on the news: a flight had mysteriously disappeared yesterday over Nebraska. She stopped on one channel and stared at the headline below the harassed-looking reporter:

WIDESPREAD PANIC AS PLANE VANISHES IN MIDAIR. AUTHORITIES YET TO RELEASE STATEMENT.

Crap.

“…there has been widespread speculation online regarding the cause of this mysterious disappearance,” the female reporter was saying. “Some say the incident was part of the international conflict in the Middle—”

Daphne clicked the remote, switching to the next channel.

PLANE VANISHES MID-FLIGHT. COULD BE CONSIDERED AN ACT OF TERRORISM. PENTAGON IN CHAOS.

A male reporter spoke this time.

“…still has been no official statement from authorities, as the government continues to investigate the tragic disappearance of Daystar Airlines Flight 18 and the passengers on board. Citizens are urged to remain calm as we await—”

Click!The screen flickered off. Daphne set down the remote, her fingers trembling. She sank onto the floor and stared at the dark screen, feeling as though there was a weight the size of an anchor in the pit of her belly.

“No,” she said, her pulse throbbing in her ears. “No, no, no, no.”

---