The stranger beside me wants to talk through the entire flight, and I cannot find a kind exit

The conversation began before we left the gate. The passenger beside me asked whether I was going home or going away, then told me about the wedding he was attending, the cousin getting married, and the family argument surrounding the seating chart.

He is friendly. He is also still talking.

I have answered politely for forty minutes, which may be the problem. Every answer opens another door. When I looked down at my book, he asked what I was reading. When I put in one earbud, he leaned closer and said he could never use those because they fall out. When the cabin crew passed, he paused only long enough to order a drink.

Nothing he has said is offensive. He is not invading my seat. I do not feel unsafe. I am simply tired and had pictured this flight as several quiet hours after a crowded week.

I keep waiting for a natural ending, but he treats every silence as a question that needs help. I could say, “I'm going to read now,” which is completely reasonable. The sentence feels oddly sharp after I have spent so long signaling interest. I have created a tiny social contract by being nicer than I had energy for.

Part of me thinks this is the cost of travel. People sit close together, conversation happens, and not every hour can be optimized around my preference. Another part thinks politeness should include noticing when someone turns toward a book three times.

I do not want a fake excuse about work or sleep. I want a line that is clear without making a well-meaning person feel punished for speaking.

What would you say? “It was nice talking, but I need some quiet time”? “I'm going to disappear into this book for a while”? Or would you put on both headphones and let the physical signal do the work? At what point does indirect politeness become less kind than a direct boundary?