Have all your perfectly laid plans been changed at the last moment for some reason, leaving you upset? But then, over time, you realized that what happened was actually for the best. Something similar, albeit on a much larger scale, happened to the parents of a woman on TikTok. In a video posted recently, Anna Noel (@annanoellll) talked about how her parents missed a flight that ended up crashing and everyone on board died.

Noel says, “My parents were supposed to be on a flight where every single passenger died.” She adds that it was Flight 261 from Puerto Vallarta, which was scheduled to stop in San Francisco before eventually flying on to Seattle. Before starting her story, she also took a moment to express her heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives on the flight. She then explains that her parents flew to Mexico quite often, as they were considering moving there. However, on the morning of the flight to Mexico, out of the blue, her mother became seriously ill. Although she thought it was anxiety and pushed it aside for a while, the illness persisted. There was no refund if they canceled their flight, and her father didn’t want to miss the flight either. However, seeing how sick his wife was, he had no choice but to miss the flight.

Noel says, “I’m sure my dad was a little upset, but on January 31, 2000, he was very grateful.” That was because the flight they had booked for January 31, 2000, crashed horribly, resulting in the deaths of all 88 people on board. As shocking as that news was, that wasn’t even the most shocking part of the whole story. Eventually, Noel’s mother realized that the real reason for her illness wasn’t anxiety; it was morning sickness due to her pregnancy.

But then Noel reveals something. She says, “I’m an only child though.” This means that her mother was pregnant with another child at the time, which she eventually lost. However, it was almost as if the child existed to make sure nothing bad happened to the couple. In Noel’s words, “The purpose of this baby was to save my mum and dad’s lives.” And isn’t that the best thing ever? Noel ended her video on an encouraging note, “This is your reminder when you’re feeling down or running late or when something happens that disrupts the plans you already have – maybe there’s a reason for that.”

The comments section was full of people rightfully calling this the burnt toast theory. @dejarussell__ said, “Burnt toast theory! Whenever something unpleasant happens to me, I try to thank the universe instead. It’s all part of the plan.” @realbrittanydawn said, “If this is Alaska Airlines flight 261, my dad was supposed to be the pilot on that flight. He got sick and couldn’t fly. Scariest day of our lives.” It was the greatest miracle ever and may such a miracle continue to happen to anyone who needs it.

You can follow Anna Noel (@annanoellll) for interesting insights and content.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on December 11, 2023. It has since been updated.