When I took that flight to LA, I never assumed it would change everything for me, yet, my life was never the same from that day on.

As I took my seat, I immediately started going through the bunch of papers I had revised over and over again and the presentation that was about to secure me a new job position as an architect at a high-profile company.

However, almost an hour into the flight that changed everything, a flight attendant approached and asked to see my passport.

“Is something wrong with my reservation?” I asked, surprised and a bit worried.

“No, miss,” she said. “It’s just… the captain would like to see you once we land.”

“The captain!?” I asked, my confusion only getting worse.

But before I could ask more, the flight attendant turn around and left.

For the rest of the flight that changed everything, I couldn’t help but wonder why a captain would like to speak to me.

Could it be someone I knew? Perhaps and old friend?

When the plane finally touched down and all of the passengers left, I remained at my seat as I was told.

At that moment, the captain, a man in his 50s, approached me and called me by my name. “Hi, Courtney,” he said.

“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” I asked, barely able to utter a word.

He looked at me for a couple of seconds before he said, “You don’t. But I am your father.”

“My father?” I asked, shocked. “But my mom told me my father passed away before I was even born,” I said.

“You see… your mother and I dated for some time, and then she suddenly vanished from my life. I had no idea where she was, but then a relative of hers told me that she had given birth to a girl. And I knew deep down that you were mine.”

It turned out he knew my name and my birthday, and that was it. He tried finding me, but he wasn’t sure if we wanted him in our life.

When he saw the passengers’ list, he could feel deep down that I was his Courtney, and the birth date the flight attendant saw in my passport only confirmed what he suspected.

At that moment, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. Tears started rolling down my face. I gave my father a hug and I was happy I met him, but at the same time, I felt anger because my mother hid the truth from me.

Steve and I stayed in touch.

When I finally found courage to confront my mother, she broke down in tears. She said that when she learned she was pregnant, she got scared. She wasn’t sure if my dad wanted a child, so she decided to vanish from his life.

Eventually, she and Steve met. It felt to both of them as though they never split. Their feeling for one another emerged, but still, they decided to take things slowly.

It’s incredible how life works sometimes.