All the seats in the waiting area were occupied, except for the one next to her—no one wanted to sit beside her. First, business class passengers were called to board, followed by the rest.

Maria waited until the very last moment, planning to board only after everyone else had left.

“Grandma, what are you waiting for? You need to board with business class,” a young man said.

The woman hurried toward the plane, unsure of where to go next. When she reached her seat, her seatmate immediately called for the flight attendant.

“Who is this? Grandma, you must be in the wrong seat. And you,” he said, turning to the flight attendant, “do your job properly—don’t seat just anyone here.”