The attendant assured me that the seating change had been arranged with her mother before boarding.

That settled one worry but not the question that was now reorganizing my entire past.

When the plane reached cruising altitude, Willa opened a small packet of crackers and offered me one.

I accepted it because I couldn’t think of anything else to do.

“Mommy says being kind when you’re scared counts twice,” she told me.

“That’s good advice.”

“She gets scared sometimes.

Not because of monsters.