Alternate Versions

1. What was...

The Kismet Airlines flight was scheduled to depart on time from Edinburgh for Istanbul.

Jack Randall had been attending a conference in the Scottish capital and was looking forward to

returning home. He had been living in Turkey for so many years that it indeed felt like home.

Jack worked as an editor for a publishing company that had offices in Europe, including in the

UK and Turkey – or Türkiye, as was now the correct and official name.

An announcement informed passengers in the waiting lounge that Kismet Airlines Flight

666, bound for Istanbul, was ready for boarding, starting with business class. Jack stood up and

walked to the queue. After showing his KA business class ticket and passport, in short order,

Jack was boarding the airplane and comfortably ensconced in 3D, an aisle seat. When all the

business class passengers had been seated, the economy class passengers boarded the airplane,

making their way through the business class area into the economy section. Jack began reading

the book he had brought with him, an Agatha Christie mystery which he had read years before in

English. This copy was in Turkish because Jack was vigilant about maintaining a certain level of

the language. However, he read novels in Turkish more for practice than pleasure.

At some point, it occurred to Jack that the passengers had been seated and waiting for a

longer time than was usual. The aircraft had not pushed back from the gate. Finally, the captain

came on the PA and announced there was a technical problem that should be corrected in short

order. Like other passengers around him, Jack groaned. He had been away from his cosy

apartment for the past week and was keen to walk through the door of his home. The minutes

ticked by slowly. After approximately 15 minutes, the airplane started to back away from the

gate. Jack was pleased because in no time, the flight would be taking off.

Although the airplane had departed from the gate, it had not gone far when the engines

suddenly died. After a few minutes, the engines started up again, and the airplane stopped its

reverse movement and began to proceed forward. It was still near the airport buildings, but not

yet near the runway. Then the engines died out again. The captain or co-pilot announced the

flight would have a delay until an issue was resolved. The minutes slowly passed by, with Jack

having an uneasy feeling that he would arrive far later at his home in Istanbul than he had

anticipated. Fortunately, he heard the engines start up again, and the aircraft started to inch

forward, presumably toward the runway.

Jack grimaced as the sound of the engines suddenly died out, and the airplane stopped

moving. It was now approximately three-quarters of an hour since Jack and the other passengers

had boarded the flight. “Dear Passengers, unfortunately, the previous technical issue has

recurred, and we are returning to the gate. Ground staff will assist you at the Kismet Airlines

counters with further information. This flight will not be departing under the circumstances.

Your safety is our first concern.” There was a collective groan that could be heard throughout

the entire airplane. Jack was as displeased as the other passengers, but hoped there would be later

flights by Kismet Airlines that day. As Jack reflected, it would be better to return home late at

night than the following day.

............................................

The passengers had collected their luggage and were desultorily standing or sitting in the

waiting areas near the Kismet Airlines counters. They had been informed that all passengers

would be provided with tickets for a flight the following day, with a free night’s accommodation

and meals provided at an airport hotel. “Please be patient,” one of the KA ground staff

announced over the PA. “It will take us time to make all the necessary arrangements.” After the

passengers had waited for almost two hours, they were instructed to come forward in the various

queues in order to relinquish their previously-issued flight tickets, and to be given their tickets

for the flight the following day.

The line that Jack was standing in seemed to move as slowly as molasses in January.

There was no quick line for business class. Everyone was now in the same boat, so to speak. An

hour later, Jack had finally reached the front of the line. He was given his ticket for the KA flight

that would depart the following day, and instructed to walk to a nearby airport hotel where the

staff there would give him a key to his hotel room, as well as food vouchers. As Jack made his

way out of the airport and along the sidewalk that led to the hotel, he cursed his luck and wished

the flight had taken off anyway, despite the technical issues. He thought to himself that the KA

flight crew was probably being over-cautious. Jack was sure that if only the flight had taken off,

he and the other passengers would have arrived in Istanbul as scheduled, safe and sound!

............................................

2. What Could Have Been...

“Kismet Airlines Flight 666 departing for Istanbul will soon be ready for general

boarding. Passengers who require assistance, as well as business class passengers, can now

present their passports and flight tickets.” The announcement came as a relief to Jack Randall,

who had been attending a publishing conference in Edinburgh for the past week. Having lived in

Turkey – or more correctly, Türkiye - for a long time, Jack was keen to be back home in his cosy

apartment in central Istanbul. Although Jack enjoyed his job as a senior editor at a publishing

house with branches in a range of European cities, including Istanbul, the allure of job-related

travel had long ago lost its lustre for him.

Jack made his way to his aisle seat in the business class section. Not that he was

superstitious, but Jack always tried to book seat 3D in business class when he travelled, whether

it be for professional or personal purposes. As per usual, Jack ensured that he had a book, his

travel diary, a pen, and a pair of reading glasses close at hand. In view that he was an editor for a

publishing company, it was not surprising that Jack was a voracious reader. Whenever he

travelled, Jack took two books to read when away from home – one in English and one in

Turkish. Although by his own admission, Jack’s conversational level of Turkish was intermediate,

as with any language he had learned, his writing and reading abilities were better than when

speaking.

Jack had set his items in the seat pocket in front of him. He removed the book and his

eyeglasses and readied himself to read a few pages while the flight was being boarded by the

economy passengers. Jack did not take much, if any, pleasure in reading books in Turkish, but

was unfailingly faithful to do his best to maintain and hopefully improve his ability in a language

for which he had great fondness. Jack looked at the front copy with a sense of pride. Having

been a bibliophile from a young age, Jack had amassed a considerable collection of books at his

home over the years. He had stumbled across this vintage edition of an Agatha Christie novel in

a rather shabby and cluttered second-hand bookstore in the Galatasaray district, on a narrow side

street off the famous and historic İstiklal Caddesi. Interestingly, the bookstore was not far from

the famed Pera Palace Hotel, where Agatha Christie had stayed decades earlier. The owner of the

bookstore apparently was not aware that the edition held vintage value. Jack was pleased when

he was able to purchase it for a song, as the saying goes.

Jack had initially read the English-language version of the novel when a teenager in high

school. It was a fan favourite of those who faithfully read Agatha Christie’s books, but not as

well-known as some others. Jack read the title, Bulutlar İçinde Ölüm, appreciating the vintage,

faded green cover and the words in heavy bold print at the bottom: POLIS ROMANI. In

translation, the title was Death in the Clouds, the British version, and ‘polis romanı’ translated to

‘police novel.’ Jack had also read the American version years before: Death in the Air. For an

instant, Jack thought of the irony and inherent meaning of the title and gave a slight shiver. It

occurred to him that perhaps it was not the best choice of novel when one was flying!

Jack was brought out of his reverie when he realised the amount of time that had gone

by since he had boarded the airplane. Everyone had been seated and waiting for what seemed to

be a longer time than was usual. The aircraft was still at the gate. “Dear Passengers, this is the

Captain speaking. We request your kind patience as a technical problem is solved. We should be

on our way soon.” Not being able to help himself, Jack gave a loud groan, and could hear other

passengers doing the same. The man seated beside Jack – obviously a businessman – turned to

him and exclaimed: “I have an important business meeting in Istanbul. This GDM plane had

better take off soon, or I’ll be late for my meeting!” Jack nodded at the man sympathetically. He

said to the man, “I live in Istanbul, and after a week at a conference here in Edinburgh, I can’t

wait to walk through the door of my home.”

Just when Jack wondered if the flight would depart as planned, the aircraft began to back

away from the gate. He thanked his lucky stars – in no time, he would be in the air and on the

way home to his beloved Istanbul. As the airplane made a turn toward a lane that led to the

runways, the engines suddenly died. After a few moments, the engines could be heard jumping

back to life. The airplane inched closer to the runway. Jack felt a peevish feeling come over him

as the sound of the engines died out again. “This F-ing flight better take off,” Jack thought to

himself. The minutes ticked by. Jack began to wonder if he would get back home that day after

all. His rising feeling of anger turned into a prickling sense of foreboding. At that moment, the

engines could be heard starting up again. A cheer from the passengers went through the aircraft.

Kismet Airlines Flight #666 slowly but steadily made its way to the runway, waiting in a

queue of airplanes that were ready to take off. Finally, with a sense of relief, Jack heard the

engines winding up to their full capacity. The airplane started to hurtle down the runway with

increasing speed, and then it was airborne. Jack closed his eyes in gratitude, thanking the heavens

for getting him in the air and on his way home. By now, the aircraft was still ascending but was

above the clouds. The seatbelt signs were still on. Jack opened his eyes and looked down at the

Agatha Christie novel that he had been holding, and realised his fingers were white and clasped

around the book’s spine. He had been staring at the book’s title in a concerted manner.

Something at the back of Jack’s mind was troubling him. Ignoring what seemed to be a

premonition, Jack thought it best to read to take his mind off the feeling of being so unsettled.

He was just about to open his eye-glass case when Jack heard a tremendous, earth-

shattering sound – metallic, catastrophic. In that split instant, Jack’s eyes turned back to the book

and the title.

Bulutlar İçinde Ölüm...

Death...

In...

The...

C

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o

u

d

s...

John RC Potter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John RC Potter is an international educator from Canada who resides in Istanbul. The author’s poem, “Nie Wieder/Never Again,” and his story, “Ruth’s World,” were Pushcart Prize nominees, and his poem, “Tomato Heart,” was nominated for the Best of the Net Award. The author has a gay-themed children’s picture book scheduled for publication. He is a member of the League of Canadian Poets and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Recent Publications: The General Store at Four Corners: A Novella by Subtle Body Press (print) & “Clara Von Clapp’s Secret Admirer” (online) in The Lemonwood Quarterly, Clara Von Clapp’s Secret Admirer – The Lemonwood Quarterly

Website: https://johnrcpotterauthor.com  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnRCPotter

Bluesky: http://johnrcpotter.bsky.social