On what was supposed to be a routine flight, everything changed when I opened the airplane bathroom door and found a barefoot little boy inside. His clothes were worn, his eyes wide with fear—and when he saw me, he clung to my waist and wouldn’t let go.Flight attendants rushed over, unsure how he got onboard. No one recognized him. He didn’t speak much, just whispered, “Don’t send me back.”

As the flight continued, I sat with him, holding his tiny hand while he dozed off in my lap. A note crumpled in his pocket explained everything: he’d fled a dangerous situation and had snuck onboard,