The woman behind the counter tapped on her computer keyboard. Her hair was dark and pulled into a tight ponytail. The airline emblem was embroidered on the left pocket of her black jacket, underneath which she was wearing a white blouse with a Peter Pan collar.

Pim stood with one arm on the counter. She leaned slightly forward in an attempt to reduce the pain in her swollen belly.

“You can put your bag on the belt,” the woman said, examining Pim’s face. Taking a deep breath, Pim swung her suitcase onto the conveyor belt.

Nausea ran through her like an electric shock.

She grimaced.

“Is it your first time?”

The woman looked at her questioningly.

“Going to Copenhagen, I mean?”

Pim nodded.

“You don’t need to worry. Flying isn’t dangerous.”

Pim didn’t answer. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say. She kept her eyes on her shoes.

“Here you go.”

Pim took her boarding pass and immediately left the counter.

She wanted to get out of there, away from the woman, away from her wondering gaze.

She didn’t want to talk to anyone.

No one.

“Hey! Wait!” The woman behind the counter called to her.

Pim turned around.

“Your passport,” she said. “You forgot your passport.”

Pim went back and mumbled thanks. Clutching her passport to her chest with both hands, she walked slowly toward security.

* * *

Alone again, Jana Berzelius sank slowly to her knees. The pain was excruciating.

She just wanted to close her eyes. Carefully, she touched the back of her head, feeling the wound. Her fingers were immediately covered in blood. She wiped them on her jacket and looked around. Her maroon hat lay fifteen feet to her left, next to her briefcase. She carefully crawled to it, feeling the hard ice against her legs, knowing she couldn’t stay out here on the cold ground.

Then she noticed the bitter taste of metal. She spit and saw that it was red.

As red as the color of her hat.

She counted to three and struggled to her feet again. It felt like someone was stabbing her in the head, and the world was spinning. She supported herself with one hand on the wall of the pink archway.

She didn’t yet have the strength to walk.

So she stood there, letting the blood run down her neck.

* * *

Pim was shaken awake by the plane flying through turbulence.

She clutched the armrests, breathing quickly. Nausea radiated through her body, causing her heart to pound even faster.

She craned her neck in an attempt to see Noi, who was sitting in a window seat seven rows behind her. The headrests were in the way.