Summary

Anneliese and Hubert Huber, a retired couple from Germany, face their mortality aboard a transatlantic flight that encounters a potentially fatal issue, leading to an emergency landing.

Abstract

During a flight from Munich to New York, Anneliese and Hubert Huber, a Bavarian couple, are excited to fulfill their retirement dream of visiting the Big Apple. However, their anticipation turns to fear when the pilot announces an emergency landing due to a miscalculation of fuel. As the couple grapples with their potential demise, they oscillate between tender moments and comic misunderstandings, while the other passengers and crew express their own anxieties and confessions. In the face of danger, the couple's idiosyncrasies are amplified, revealing a complex blend of love, regret, and the quirky nature of their relationship.

Opinions

Anneliese seems eager to experience all New York has to offer, while Hubert, though affectionate, appears to be more pragmatic and reserved.
The pilot's announcement causes a mix of reactions among the passengers, from Anneliese's concern about a stove left on to the confession of a passenger's life regrets.
Hubert's attempt to reconcile with Anneliese by following the captain's suggestion to hug loved ones is met with resistance, highlighting the couple's communication issues.
The couple's exchange about divorce in the face of death suggests underlying tensions in their relationship, with both expressing dissatisfaction.
The humorous and absurd elements of the situation, such as the man with his trousers down and the pilot's ill-timed confession, provide a satirical commentary on human behavior in crisis situations.
Despite the imminent danger, the couple's interaction about eating sausage sandwiches underscores the mundane and absurd aspects of life, even when faced with potential tragedy.

💯 STORY CHALLENGE (22/100)

Darling, We Need to Talk … Before the Plane Crashes.

Retirement dream trip or plane crash?

**Flying can be so romantic!** / Photo by Nur Andi Ravsanjani Gusma on Pexels

Anneliese: “Hubert, isn’t it nice that we finally travel to New York ….”

Bavarian Budget Air flight BBA 123 from Munich to New York… somewhere over the Atlantic. Anneliese and Hubert Huber from Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn, a small town Southeast of Munich, are about to fulfil their retirement dream and travel to New York ….

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz.” [Yes, darling.]

Anneliese: “… after all those years ….”

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz.”

Anneliese: “… I finally get to see the statue of liberty ….”

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz.”

Anneliese: “… and the Broadway!”

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz.”

Announcement from the cockpit: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking ….”

Anneliese: “And the Golden Gate Bridge.”

Hubert: “Nein, Schatz. You mean the Brooklyn Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is in San Francisco.”

Anneliese: “San Francisco would be nice, too!”

Pilot: “… sadly, we have minor issues regarding this flight….”

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz. But we fly to New York.”

Anneliese: “There’s the miserly Hubert again. I bet you would have brought your secretary there!”

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz.”

Anneliese: “WHAT?!”

Pilot: “… It happens that we have to land earlier ….”

Hubert: “Did you hear? We land earlier.”

Anneliese: “At least somebody is eager to make this a nice trip.”

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz.”

Pilot: “… because somebody might have miscalculated the amount of kerosene we need for this flight ….”

A man two rows in front of the couple starts to shout maniacally: “Oh my god! We are all going to die!”

Hubert: “What?”

Anneliese: “I said the captain makes an effort at least.”

Hubert: “Ja, Schatz. He does.”

Pilot: “We will have to do an emergency landing. Actually, ‘try’ would be a better choice of words.”

Somewhere in the back of the plane, a woman starts screaming: “My life just passed by my inner eye … AND IT WAS CRAP!”

Anneliese: “Oh dear! Hubert, this is horrible. I … I ….”

Hubert: “I know. I love you too, but this is the end, Schatz.”

Anneliese: “… I left the stove on.”

Hubert: “Excuse me?! We are going to die.”

Anneliese: “Eh? Hubert and his dramatic fiddle-faddle.”

Pilot: “Should you travel with your loved ones, now is the time to hug them.”

A man jumps out of the plane’s lavatory, his trousers hanging halfway between his knees and his ankles: “I put my work above everything. Four failed marriages! And now?! Now, I have only this smelly aeroplane toilet to hug!”

Hubert tries to hug Annaliese.

Anneliese: “What are you doing?!”

Hubert: “The captain said to hug our loved ones ….”

Anneliese: “But he didn’t say ruin their hair, did he?”

Hubert: “Nein, Schatz.”

Hubert looks sadly around the plane and at the crying and screaming passengers. Next to him, Anneliese starts digging through her oversized handbag, pulling out two plastic boxes.

Pilot: “I have a confession to make. I am a bad person and kissed my brother’s wife.”

Anneliese: “Here’s your Wurstbrot.”

Hubert: “Was that necessary?”

Anneliese: “That is how you thank me? It is your favourite sausage!”

Hubert: “I meant rejecting me in these last moments of our life!”

Anneliese: “Don’t take everything so personal. Now eat. Nobody wants to die with an empty stomach.”

Hubert: “I want to divorce and die a free man, Schatz.”

Anneliese: “Well, I am fed up too! Let’s divorce right now.”

Hubert: “But there is paperwork to be done….”

Pilot: “Oops … what’s that about the fuel indicator? Wait … is the mic still on? F**k!”

Anneliese: “… and the offices are closed ….”

Hubert: “… and we are going to die.”

Pilot: “Yikes! It might be that somebody didn’t miscalculate the kerosene needed for this flight.”

The man with his trousers wrapped around his ankles looks at the cabin in shock before quickly jumping back into the lavatory, shouting something about being embarrassed for all eternity.

Anneliese and Hubert avoid looking at each other while the mood around them changes into angry screams directed at the cockpit.

Hubert: “We should sue the airline.”

Anneliese hands him the bread: “But first we must eat. It’s still a long way, and we want to be fit to see the Brooklyn Bridge.”

Hubert takes the bread and smiles: “Ja, Schatz.”

💯 Story Challenge (22/100)

Thank you for supporting my creative journey! Please check out my other weird, wicked and witty fiction stories on Medium if you enjoyed this tale. Support my writing journey by subscribing to my email list or joining as a medium member with my referral link.

I build this story around a writing prompt by JF Danskin: “Write a panicked conversation on an airplane that’s about to crash, or onboard a spacecraft that has lost contact with mission control.”

Are you interested in the 💯 Story Challenge? Check this story by Zane Dickens in Microcosm to learn more.

Like always, I finish by leading you to a personal pick from the 💯 Story Challenge: “Shower Thoughts” by Bradan Writes Stories.