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

24 25 The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince The Package Taking out her boarding pass, she started looking for the mistake. “Do you see it... Zoey?” he asked with a grin on his face. “No, I can’t…” she paused for a moment. Looking up and seeing his grin, she realized what he had done. “You think you’re slick, don’t you?” she said as she grabbed his boarding pass to see his name. “Tristan! I can’t believe I fell for that.” “So… can I get your number?” Smiling back at him, she said, “You know that song, by Meghan Trainor. The one where she mentions a two-letter word a lot.” “OK, OK,” he said. They both laughed and smiled at each other, while maintaining eye contact. “NEXT.” They were at the front of the line. She went before him. As she handed over her boarding pass, TJ hoped she would wait for him so they could continue talking. When she was done, she turned around, winked at him, and walked into the plane. As soon as she walked away, he noticed the gentleman at the boarding counter pick up the microphone to make an announcement: This is the final boarding call for passenger Daniel Smith booked on flight QR740 to Doha. Please proceed to gate 152 immediately. The final checks are being completed, and the captain will order for the doors of the aircraft to close in approximately five minutes’ time. I repeat. This is the final boarding call for Daniel Smith. Thank You. The moment he put down the microphone, TJ handed him the boarding pass, then ran to the plane, hoping to catch Zoey before she took her seat. As fate would have it, a young lady was waiting for him; only it was one of the flight attendants. “Of course!” TJ said. As the flight attendant showed him to his seat, he kept looking back at every seat he passed, hoping to see her as he walked towards his own seat. He remembered that he was in business class, and realized that he probably wouldn’t see her again. “This close. I was this close to closing with her,” he said as he took his seat. Slamming his fist against the armrest, he decided to close his eyes and sit in silence for a while. He thought back to the time he had with Zoey in the boarding line. In his haste and frustration, he hadn’t taken notice of his surroundings. The soft gentleness of his seat awakened him to the comfort of business class. “So, this is what 10 grand looks like,” he said in awe, with a hint of disgust. They were in a Qatar Airways Boeing 777-200LR. The seats were 180-degree reclining flatbeds. They had a woodlike finish to them, with some delicately done blue lighting along the sides. The airhostesses even offered pyjamas for the long flight. A menu followed the PJs. Looking at the menu, passengers had the option of taking up to a sevencourse meal. Of course, TJ took all seven courses. Once he was done eating, he had the option of watching a movie, listening to music, reading a book, or sleeping.