The flight attendant noticed a 10-year-old boy making a strange sign with his fingers: the plane would make an emergency landing in a few minutes 

It was a routine morning flight from Munich to Barcelona.

The sun was just rising when flight attendant Anna walked down the aisle, checking to see if all the passengers had fastened their seat belts.

Everything was going according to plan until her attention was drawn to a boy in the third row by the window.

He was one of those quiet kids who try to be inconspicuous. He looked about ten, maybe eleven.

Next to him sat a man of about forty, of a stocky build. He kept his hand on the armrest, lightly touching the boy’s shoulder. The man’s gaze was cold and tenacious.

Anna almost passed by when she suddenly noticed that the boy had barely noticeably folded his fingers into a strange sign. At first, she didn’t pay attention – maybe he was playing.

But a few minutes later the plane made an emergency landing and all passengers were evacuated  Continued 

Later, when his father stood up and went to the toilet, the boy repeated the same gesture. But now – with despair. His eyes were full of fear.

Anna stopped. She knew this sign. She had been trained in the codes of gestures that children can use in danger. This sign is a request for help.

Without showing it, she came closer and, smiling, handed him a glass of apple juice.

– This is your favorite, right?

The boy nodded silently, taking the glass with trembling hands. He looked back again – as if he was afraid that he would return.

When the man returned, he cast an expectant look at Anna. His forehead was glistening with sweat, although the air conditioning in the cabin worked well. He sat down and immediately glanced at the child, then at the phone.

Anna felt her pulse quicken.

She discreetly passed a note to the pilots through a colleague: “Possible abduction. Row 3A. Child signaling for help. Male – suspicious behavior. Request emergency landing and police at the airport.”

Ten minutes later, the captain announced: “Due to a technical malfunction, we are forced to make an unscheduled landing in Geneva.”

The man became nervous. He asked to go to the toilet again. But in the aisle, two security officers were already waiting for him, notified in advance by the crew.

When they led him out, he shouted:

— You don’t understand! This is my son! I have documents!”

But the documents turned out to be fake.

Police officers and a representative of the child protection service were already waiting for the boy downstairs.

When they asked him carefully if he knew the man, the boy shook his head and began to cry.

It later turned out that he had been kidnapped weeks earlier from another country. Interpol and local agencies were searching, but no one expected to find him in the sky.

Anna stood in the doorway of the plane, watching as the boy was taken to safety. He turned, met her gaze, and this time he simply raised his hand and smiled.