Just a yarn for the competition that is about a flight crew heading out of Florida back to Europe who just happened to stay over and celebrate Halloween in USA. After listening to a tale from the Chief Stewardess Sam and his colleagues are interested to know more about a story that had been told by an old lady and the contents of a letter and a small cask left by someone who disappeared with Flight 19. The flight disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle and maybe the old lady was really the guy who had disappeared. Who knows? Strange things can happen at Halloween and also over the Bermuda Triangle.

Hi, my name is Sam and I just stopped by to share my story since finally my dream came true and maybe it will brighten your day. If it doesn’t then I’m sorry but I will keep trying.

Life was reasonably good to me. I wasn’t in the top stream at school but then I wasn’t at the bottom either so I got a job that started out pretty crap but then got better because once I built up some experience and was acknowledged as a friendly and caring sort of a guy I moved quickly from being rushed off my feet and being thrown around on small aircraft to European flights where I got chance to sit down to long haul that is much more relaxing.

I’d had a great few years travelling the Atlantic on these long haul flights and even across to Asia. We got time off to spend in some great locations and I enjoyed the company of the crew members I’d teamed up with. I guess it was a job where I didn’t have to put up with sarcastic comments or snide remarks where I could be myself since it was very unlikely that passengers would see me again. I’m one of the male stewards but well outnumbered by stewardesses and so most of my friends are female. So I can behave like one of the girls without too much fuss since the crew know me and the passengers accept effeminate stewards and the special attention they often provide.

During the stopovers I’ve had some great nights with my friends in lots of wonderful cities that we have visited. This story is an account of something that happened to me when we were lucky to be stopping over in Fort Lauderdale and by co-incidence it just happened to be Halloween. This celebration is particularly good in USA and much better than in UK and of course it is a great excuse to dress up. I tried a few times in UK in my home town but was sneared at and ridiculed moreso if I wore one of my sisters outfits. It used to get to me so whenever I got chance I tried to ensure I was in USA for Halloween and of course for St Patricks Day.

It was early afternoon and we’d landed early that morning and taken an American style breakfast. I went for the bagel and the yoghurt to keep control of my waistline but most of the others went mad and had the full works. Late breakfast was preferred to a street bar because most of the crew from the flight deck weren’t drinking since they had an aeroplane to fly next day and the weather forecast wasn’t too great. Bad weather was expected for the next 2 days so it would be difficult serving food as the plane bounced around. We needed some drinks to build up some courage I suppose.

Sorry this story is dragging on but some readers like to make it last through a whole bucket of popcorn.

Anyway it was nice and warm sitting outside in the sunshine and I’d opted for some shorts to ensure I could maintain my tanned legs as long as possible. Two weeks back in England with no sun and I am as white as an eskimo. Well I assume they have white legs because they never see daylight.

After a couple of drinks we obviously got louder and no doubt the regular customers were put out as we laughed and joked. We always do when Sally is around. She is Irish and she can tell a tale. Naturally todays topic was Halloween and eventually the subject of witchcraft came up.

Sally is older than me by a few years and a lot of airmiles. She is the Chief Stewardess. She tells jokes as long as we let her and all the time she is awake. She has a wonderful memory and ability to stretch out a short story into a long one often digressing. As she expanded this tale she started to talk about witches and had us mesmorised as she told us about some of the strange old women she’d met who were passengers on various flights she'd been on. Then she focused on one lady who was even more strange and had a youthful unspoiled appearance for a woman of her apparent age. This woman had captivated Sally by her grey eyes so Sally had sat with her and listened to her interesting story about a sad loss of an uncle on a flight. Naturally we all thought this was going to relate to an air crash or an accident but it turned out it was about the Bermuda Triangle South of Florida and her favorite uncle was a crew member on the famous Flight 19 that disappeared never to be found.

As flight crew we were always hearing about this strange place and this wasn’t so far from us as far as the seagulls fly. Anyway the woman she’d been talking to had wanted to talk about her uncle who was dear to her and of course he was never heard of again. I don’t know how many ships and aircraft have disappeared over the years in this part of the world but there must have been a few. Our geography teacher had referred to it as the plughole and I supposed it must be but where does the waste go?

This man, her uncle, had been a kind man and not a fighting man so he was upset about being on a fighter plane and his niece, this old woman that Sally was talking about said he would have done anything instead of being an airman.

He was involved with the church and he had strong beliefs. He didn’t believe in witchcraft and he firmly believed that witches were evil old hags who brought fear to families and especially to children. But the strange thing was he believed that he’d met one who was not old and in fact she was supposed to be young slim and beautiful.

After the flight disappeared a search was carried out of everybodys belongings back at their base and the camp security had found a long note referring to this rather beautiful witch and that she had warned him that something strange was about to happen to him and whilst he might be scared he had to hold his courage and everything would work out wonderfully for him. He told her that he was due to fly with his colleagues the next day on a mission but he’d no idea where they were headed. She told him that they would all be terrified and whilst she couldn’t see what was going to happen she saw a beautiful woman and she could see a new life ahead of him if he stayed strong but whatever was about to happen to him it would mean he’d lose contact with his friends and family forever and live a different life to the one he had in the airforce.

He’d just said to count him in then but really he’d just laughed because he didn’t believe in witches and certainly he was of the opinion they were old and haggard. He written that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met and her eyes almost turned him to stone they were so captivating.

By this time Sally had caught everybodys attention around the table including some other girls who were listening in. If you are still hanging in as well then I’m pleased because it’s not the usual type of story that I write.

Sally said the old woman had asked her if she believed her and since Sally is Irish and liked a good tale she naturally nodded. Don’t most Irish people believe in the little people and magic bridges and things and don’t they all just love a story? I never heard of Irish witches so I wasn’t sure if Sally believed her or not. Anyway she did question why this particular witch had been beautiful and why her uncle was adamant she was a witch.

Her answer according to Sally was spoken in a thick Cork brogue much like hers “What comes to mind when you think of a witch? If it is a fearsome, cackling hag leaning over a boiling cauldron or a silhouette in the moon of an old woman in a pointed hat flying her broomstick... then nothing could be further from the truth. “

I could imagine the poor man nodding his head because everybody in earshot of Sally now thought this and since we were going to Halloween parties later that evening we’d all be on the look out for such witches and for the rack of broomsticks that would be outside the hotel lobby. None of us would be looking for tall, slender film star like witches with BMW’s.

I guess because most of us don’t believe in Witches they are viewed to be evil and Sally said this was a misconception that had been deliberately developed throughout the years and she sounded like an expert as a practising Catholic girl. She supposed that one of the most heinous misconceptions was that they were evil and deserved hanging or burning.

Sally digressed a bit whilst we topped up our drinks and she reminded us that this often happened in England and she asked if we’d ever seen a movie called The Witchfinder General who searched out witches and burned them at the stake. I could remember the film but I couldn’t recall who played the main character. I could remember Edward Woodward in another film where he was a police officer who was tricked into a whicker basket to replace a fair maiden was the sacrifice to keep the Gods happy. She said I was interrupting her story so I had to shut up.

She is so bossy so whilst I didn’t interrupt again I remembered my schooldays when we were taught about the witch trials in both Europe and the colonies. I think the colonies became United States and maybe this is why Halloween is celebrated there more than in Europe. It is a way of driving off evil forces I suppose. I was pretty certain most of the aggression towards witches took place before United States was open for business somewhere between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. I thought that maybe Alison would remember. Although Australia wasn’t opened at that time either as I recall. I was sure it was all a perceived threat against Christianity.

Sally was still holding court telling about mass fear by people and the influence of the Bishops and Priests who presented negative images so no wonder we were seeing these long pointy hats and hooked noses everywhere we went. Almost every bar in Fort Lauderdale was decorated. It must have been horrible because it led to violence against people who were not even practicing witchcraft. Some might have been beautiful like this old lady had described but because of the fear it was better to light the matches and ask questions later.

Sally then said we were wrong because often witches were hanged. Hanged or burned what’s the difference? Anyway the point she wanted to make was that there were a lot of good witches and this was the message from this old lady who said that her uncle might have been lucky to find a good witch. In his message he’d said some witches were people who were blessed by the gods and goddesses and they were admired rather than reviled.

So what? Why was Sally dragging this story out? She just said “Coming, coming be patient….. some good witches had had powers that included shapeshifting, visions, and the ability to create potions and elixirs. They had the ability to change physical appearance and emotional outcomes and it was believed that the ones who were blessed with these gifts could use them for positive or negative purposes.”

“OK so anyone having these powers was to be respected. Are you saying witches use magic potions?”

“might be.”

Anyway it was Halloween and we were getting this story from sally whether we liked it or not.

“My old lady then told me about her uncles last note and in it he’d explained how he’d spent the evening with this beautiful witch and they’d connected immediately. At least he’d gone to a small bar with her before she’d managed to get him to talk about how unhappy he was and how he wished he could find a new life. She’d told him to take care about what he wished for but she could help him if he wanted but there was no way back.”

Come on Sally what happened? “Well she apparently gave him a potion that she carried in her purse. She poured it into his drink and told him that it was the elixir of new life. He’d almost choked because it tasted awful so he’d had to drink 2 or 3 whiskies before the taste was gone. “

“Come on Sally this is a shaggy dog story isn’t it?”

“No it’s not I swear.”

“Well what happened next then? “

“she didn’t tell me but she did ask me to do her a favour.”

“Look we were all expecting an ending to the story and now you’ve just stood up to go.”

“Well there was no end because Flight 19 disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle and he was lost like everubody else.”

“Well how did she know so much then?”

“She had the note and half a cask of elixir that she said was the elixir of a new life.”

“ But didn’t she tell you anymore? What was the point? Surely there was an end to the story. Why was she talking to you? “

“ Well as you know the aeroplane and the crew have never been found.”

“But didn’t she say that if he took the flight he would lose contact but find a new life? Did he take the flight It’s all a bit of a miss because he didn’t get his new life did he??

“ Who knows. He might have done for all we know. People don’t just disappear off the face of the earth do they?”

“Not with an aeroplane as well but I suppose there was no black box in those days to help find it.”

“No and no black magic either because I don’t believe in witches either. Come on we should go.”

“Wait don’t you want to hear why she gave me the note and the cask?”

“Only if you tell us before this bar closes.”

“Who knows why she told me this ambling story and why she gave me the note that her uncle had left behind. She just said she had no family because she couldn’t have children and her brother had been killed in the war. She asked me to safeguard the note along with a small cask. She wanted me to take it to the British Museum next time I travelled through London and to tell the story so they could make a presentation case and display the note and the cask and mention her uncles name. “

“Look if he was a crew member there will be a record of him somewhere already.”

“Maybe but not the true memory that she tried to tell me about.”

“Come on Sally this definitely a shaggy dog story isn’t it. You are winding us up?”

“No it’s the truth as I stand here in front of you. I still have the note and the cask in my room in my case because I’ve not had chance to visit London for more than a year. As you know we will do this trip after the short haul to Barbados.”

“Sally now I know you are winding us up. We fly direct to Frankfurt.”

“You need to start reading your roster because the trip schedule was changed just before we met in Dusseldorf. We have too more transatlantic trips before Frankfurt.”

“OK so who cares anyway since I live in hotels or on aeroplanes and my life is just boring. Nothing exciting ever happened to me like it did with you girls.”

“ You never know Sam this could be your lucky night. It’s fancy dress and so let’s go find some outfits and we’ll meet the rest of the gang later and all see who did the best job. “

“What about the rest of the story and the note and the potion?”

There were lots of grumblings about how Sally had not finished the story and a vote was taken that she should prove the validity of her story by producing the note and the cask before we headed out to the party.

“I might tell you all later if you all chip in and I get a free night out.”

Anyway sorry but then off we went looking at the hire shops to try to find costumes or outfits that would be appropriate. If you’re still interested either hang in there or scroll down.

Sally then tried to persuade me to join her to go as two Hooters Girls and then when I resisted she produced Cheerleaders outfits and finally I complained “What’s with the girls outfits?”

“Come on Sam you know you’d look good and you have the best legs of all of us. It’s not fair.”

“But people will get the wrong idea.”

“Look all the girls know you very well. No sign of girlfriends or sexual attempts on them. We all feel that you are hiding your true self. Hell it’s Halloween so it’s a great excuse to let the girl inside you come out to play. “

“What girl? “

“Come on Sam we know you have an e-mail account as Sammy and have a small stash of ladies underwear. Your hair isn’t exactly non femme and you obviously shave your body hair and your legs. There were even traces of nail varnish on your toenails when we were swimming earlier. “

“Sally please. It’s a problem I’ve always had but for goodness sake don’t tell people. Please.”

“OK as long as you admit it then how about we dress up anyway and I’ll make out as your girlfriend and that we’re sleeping together so the guys think the dress-up is just a game and you have the hots for me. If you are lucky you can share my bed later and we can read the note from the ladys uncle. “

That was about the best result I could have expected so we shook hands on it and soon I was parading in front of the rest of the crew and feigning any sign of satisfaction. Luckily I was fastened tightly so that nothing was obvious. I guess I must have looked the part judging by the number of approaches I got and walking around Fort Lauderdale like this was pretty cool. Well it was a bit warm really but it was fantastic.

We had lots to drink and we hit quite a few bars before returning to the hotel. Sally dragged me by the hand and excused us saying it was bed time and she wanted some fun.

We just kicked off our shoes and lay on the bed and Sally produced the note. Everything she’d described was true. There was even a photo of him.

Sall then held the photo to the bed light. “Funny the family resemblance. He looks just like the old lady. They could be mother and son or father and daughter.”

Then Sally discarded the note and turned her attention to me. However as hard as she tried nothing was responding. We were eventually naked [apart from our make-up] and she tried all her best techniques on me. The tongue the biting of my ears the kissing of my nipples and even the mouth to penis resustitation. I tried but much to her amusement nothing was working.

á–K that’s it there is nothing else for it. One last attempt.”
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“what?””

Here drink this potion and let’s see if it helps.”

“I can’t drink that. You don’t know where it’s been.”

“OK here put in some Jack Daniels with it. Let’s see if old Jack can come to life.”

I tried it. It was vile and I was almost sick but another stiff one and then the taste had gone.

But sadly still no stiff one.

She gave up and we went to sleep. Still she was a good sport and she never let on at breakfast. Well late lunch really I suppose.

There was still nothing from Sally for those interested enough to press her for the end to the story. She had a hangover and wasn’t really in the mood.

We headed off to the airport and checked in our bags.

“You look good today Sam considering how much we drank last night.”

“Ꮰfeel good too and I had noticed how soft my skin was this morning. I didn’t even need to shave. I feel like I’ve shrunk a bit as well. I had to cut another notch in my belt and hitch up my trousers. Look at the length of the sleeves on my jacket I think someone played a trick on me last night. This can’t be my uniform.”

“Look come on we have to get on board so they can start loading.”

“Have you seen the flight number? Flight 919 that’s a bit spooky isn’t it.”

“Not really it was 19 that went missing.”

“Come on hurry up you lot there is a storm brewing and I don’t fancy getting caught up in it.”

We were soon taxiing down the runway and heading up into the heavy clouds. It was a bit bumpy and I could have done without losing a shoe as I tried to settle some passengers. My feet seemed to have shrunk at least 2 shoe sizes. “

“Sally I don’t like this it’s weird. My clothes don’t seem to fit properly and look at my hands they are smaller than yours.”

“Sit still until we reach cruising height and one we find some calm we’ll sort you out. Maybe it was the potion. You definitely look different but your face is still as cute as it was last night.”

“What can I do I can’t walk up and down like this.”

“Look take the spare slacks from my walk on bag and the blouse and go change in the toilet before I let the passengers up.

Before I had chance to move the plane started shaking. I’d experienced bad flights with heavy turbulence but nothing like this before.

“Sally I’m scared and the Captain hasn’t said anything yet. Do you think we’re OK. You don’t think we’re in trouble do you?

“No don’t be silly. Jeff is a great pilot and he has Greg alongside. Just stay calm.”

Then the plane shook again and the lights flashed and then went out. Everybody was screaming and the oxygen masks came down. The lights came back on and we seemed to be hurtling downwards and spinning. Then I felt my head spinning and everything went black.”

I came around because I found that Sally placed an oxygen mask over my face and my problem was related to a mixture of a panic attack and lowering of the cabin pressure. As I came around it was apparent that the plane was back flying normally. I was aloud to sit for a while to sip some water but then Sally disappeared because some passengers were still shouting and some were out of their seats despite the fasten your seat belt sign being illuminated. Sally and the other crew members were trying to calm them down so I was soon on my feet to help. I felt a bit different and it was as if something had happened to me and I just couldn't understand why I had passed out and showed myself up.

It helped a lot when Jeff came on the speaker and updated us so everybody stopped screaming and shouting so they could listen.

“Sorry about that folks but now we are back under control. Don’t worry we’re safe and no damage occurred. It's not unusual around this part of the World and we lost contact with the ground control people but good news is we have some signals again. We've been thrown a bit of course so I'll be making contact with ground to double check exactly where we are. I lost our bearings because of the magnetic forces in this area so I’m having to fly manual but there are two of us up here to look after you so we’ll get you down safely don’t worry. We have plenty of fuel and all the instruments are indicating that we have no damage to the engines. "

We could feel and hear the sense of relief passing down the aeroplane so we worked our way back to the galley area that was our base and Sally drew the curtain to give us privacy that allowed us to exhale. We knew it wasn't going to be as simple as Jeff had made out. At least I was feeling better but Sally was concerned enough to look at me and check that I could follow her finger as she moved it from right to left. Or was it left to right? I wasn't sure and I'd always known right from left. It was only girls that seemed to struggle from my experience. " are you sure that you are OK Sam because you look a bit different and you caught your head on something as you fell. Let me just wipe you over and put a plaster over that cut on your forehead."

As she finished there was a call on the galley phone from Greg. Sally looked puzzled and suggested I sat down whilst she went forward to the flight deck to talk to Greg and Jeff. She was gone for about 10 minutes and when she arrived back she she called Gwen and Michelle and they came to our gally area so she could update us.

" Girls we seem to be lost. Sorry Sam I mean crew we seem to be lost. The instruments show us heading directly West but Jeff couldn’t tell where we were were. He didn't have any landmarks to go on and he was using the sun as his guide. All we could see down below us was ocean. So nowhere to land even if we wanted to."

“Sally this is really spooky like that story you told us. I drank that potion. Do you think we’ll ever get back to Florida or to Barbados. This is the wrong direction. Maybe I’ll never see family and friends again.”

“Look Sam don’t panic. The potion didn’t work did it. No elixir of new life to be found.’

“Yes but sally my clothes don’t fit anymore and look at my chest. I’ve got boobs.”

“Well Sam you look pretty good so maybe if you get changed the clothes I lent you will fit.”

“Yes Sally but what if this is permanent. Nobody will recognise me like this. I lost something as well.”

“Worse still if we keep on this course we’ll end up in New Zealand or even Australia. We were supposed to go to Barbados and then London. What about the promise you made to the old lady?”

“Look I’ll deal with that later don’t worry. Now what have you lost?”

“Sally you know all the work you did trying to get me stiff last night? Well there is nothing there anymore to get stiff. I think I lost it in the Bermuda Triangle.”

“Wake up you fool. I told you not to drink that stuff or you’d end up ill or having nightmares and if we don’t hurry up we’ll miss the coach to the airport.”

“But Sally there is nothing here between my legs and I’ve got breasts like you. What was that stuff and who was the woman who gave it to you?”

……………………………………………………………………