Emoticons or smilies. Spotted many of these in the postings. Reminded me of a flight I thought I would not wake away from. It was an international flight from Shanghai to Singapore on a foreign carrier. It was also my first flight on that carrier. Our national airline was fully booked. Sigh.

Was greeted at the door by a pretty, tall and porcelain skin stewardess who led me to my seat. Imageries of a pleasant flight ahead floated through my mind. Snow White to serve me. A smile broke out on my face. But that smile faded the moment I settled down on my seat.

The seat cushion had stained spots. There were cuts in the fabric; through wear and tear in some places and deliberate cuts in others. Was a knife used there? Did a murder occurred at my seat on the way in? Was the plane older than I was in age? I wondered. Not wanting to be ungracious, I kept my thoughts to myself. And mine was a Business Class seat at that.

During the taxi to the runway, I prayed for a safe landing at Changi with all my body parts intact. And the plane did take off successfully but the flight was bumpy throughout. Largely uneventful until mealtime.

The cutlery served had some stains on them. Like some leftover food fused to the metal parts at a molecular level. Hard as I tried, I could not remove all the stains. Sure kenna runs later. But with Snow White serving me, how could I complain?

What about the smilies? Am coming to it.

Went to use the lavatory. Whilst doing my stuff, the plane hit another air pocket. Toilet paper, napkins and other oddments fell out of the cabinet. Gathered whatever I could and pushed everything back in. But somehow the latch did not / could not catch.

That?s when I saw them. Lined along the edges of the cabinet door were rows of smiley stickers. These were the stuff that was used to hold the cabinet door shut! How ingenious! How frightening!

What else is holding the plane is place? More smiley stickers elsewhere? What other compromises were there?

I left the lavatory in a jiff (no pun intended), went back to my seat and fastened my seatbelt tightly (without being told). I must admit I prayed quite a bit the remaining of the flight. That nothing else falls apart at the next air pocket. Perhaps an engine or a wing?

Thank God my prayers were answered and the plane did land smoothly at Changi. At the door, Snow White was still all smiles, thanking the passengers and wishing them a nice day. In return, I thanked her for an unforgettable flight (it certainly was) and pointed to the smiley sticker on my breast pocket. Then off I went down the aerobridge to kiss terra firma.

So that?s how Smiley saved the day.

—written by Patrick, The PacMan