It was a normal afternoon at LAX. People were laughing, children were pressing their faces against the terminal windows, and business travelers were tapping away on laptops. I felt tired but peaceful.

As I boarded the flight, I noticed the flight attendants greeting passengers with rehearsed smiles. But one of them, her name tag reading “Alyssa,” was different. She wasn’t just polite; she was observing. Her eyes scanned each person boarding like she was memorizing faces. When our eyes met, she hesitated for half a second, almost like she recognized me, then quickly looked away.