Sometimes, when I see a plane pass by at cruising altitude
I wonder about the people inside it.

I very clearly know where they are
We could even be looking at each other in that moment
Assuming they’re looking at the right spot on the ground
But we can’t actually see each other, of course

I makes me wonder what their story is, what their life is
If you’d take the average airplane, say flying from Europe to the US
What would those people be doing?

You’d have your regular business people
Going to visit some company, or an overseas factory
There’s the vacationers, visiting some city, or going on a road trip
Undoubtedly some people who are visiting family
And let’s not forget, it’s just as likely that they are returning from doing something like that, flying back home after time spent abroad

But what if their story is a little more special?
Perhaps a couple of newlyweds, not going on any odd vacation, but their honeymoon
Any vacation is special, but maybe someone went on their trip of a lifetime, to their dream destination.
Maybe they’ve fallen in love with someone they met online, and they’re about to meet them for the very first time

What if they went home to the funeral of their grandfather? Or to visit their mother who has become ill?
What if they’re going to find a friend that they haven’t heard from for a while?

They might be running away from a toxic family, or an abusive ex, trying to start a new life somewhere away from their history.
They might be looking to simply disappear, literally flying off into the sunset never to be seen again

All those people, that I know are there but that I cannot see, have a story to tell
Some stories might be more common than others, many stories probably never crossed my mind before.
But all of their stories have the same content as mine.
All their lives are just as complex, their relationships just as varied.

I find it fascinating, and I don’t just see it in the passengers on an airplane.
Many, or probably even most, faces I see every day, I will never see again.
And yet they are all like me, have lives like mine

I wonder how many people of these people I will meet again, without knowing
I wonder if one of them will become part of my life at some point, a colleague, a friend, perhaps even a partner?

I’ll never know their stories
There are only a few of them who I could even ask
It would feel very awkward, though some people have done it.
But I do find it fascinating