Part I: Six Packages, Six Journeys, One Big Wooden Door

26 27 The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince The Package Looking back at the day he had, one that had been both physically and mentally draining, he chose to start the trip with some sleep. Before going to sleep, he quickly checked the on-flight status of the trip to see how long the flight would be: 15 hours and 35 minutes. With that motivation, he fell asleep. The remainder of the flight involved a repetitive cycle of sleep, watching a movie, listening to music, reading, and sleeping. Since these were brief moments of sleep, he didn’t have to face the familiar struggle of trying to sleep through an entire restless night. With most of the passengers fast asleep, the lights and PA system suddenly turned on for the captain’s announcement: Ladies and gentlemen, we are now getting ready for our decent into Doha. We are expected to land at 3:45 a.m. local time, two hours later than our scheduled time. Once again, we apologize for the unexpected delay before our departure. It is currently 3:30 a.m. local time. It is 32 degrees Celsius in Doha, with the weather expected to be mostly sunny for the rest of the day, with slight winds. We wish you a pleasant stay in Doha, and we hope to see you again soon. On behalf of all our crew, thank you for choosing to fly with us this evening. TJ sluggishly began to wake up, opening his eyes. Everyone else seemed to be as groggy as he was. The lights were quite sharp, almost piercing through the retina. As they received instructions to ensure their seats and tray tables were in an upright position, TJ gathered all his belongings, making sure he wasn’t leaving anything behind. Once the plane landed, the business class passengers were allowed to exit first. TJ had to move quickly, as his connecting flight was already boarding. The airhostesses were standing at the exit, thanking everyone for flying with them and wishing them a wonderful day. As TJ approached the exit, one of the airhostesses stopped him for a brief moment. She handed him a note, then swiftly continued with her farewell routine, as if nothing was amiss. Perplexed by what had just happened, he quickly opened the note to see its contents: 212-634-3077 Hope to hear from you Z. “No she didn’t,” TJ said to himself. “Yes,” he exclaimed as he ran to the other side of the airport to reach his boarding gate. He wished he had the time to wait for her, but given the flight delay, he had no choice but to run to catch his connecting flight. He made it before they closed the gate. He felt relief that he managed to avoid the embarrassment of hearing his name called out over the PA system. He was still within the allocated boarding time. As he made his way to find his seat, he was a little less distracted this time. He was able to pay attention to the difference between economy and business class. This plane was smaller than the previous one. Besides the size, all the other features were the same. He didn’t spend much time focusing on where he was, though. It was all starting to sink in. His mind was on his destination. He had a few good distractions along the