Kenneth Meade

Uri's choice

Sunlight caught Uri’s eye in a blast forcing him to look away. The brightness that crept across the floor, erupting a blinding brilliance onto anything shiny, was like a timer set to keep him from thinking about work too much. It had also forced the little black notebook in the seat across from him into his field of view. He snatched up his backpack and moved across the empty aisle, plopping down next to the book. He glanced around the gate again as if he hadn’t made sure it was empty when he decided to set up there. His flight was to leave in an hour provided the airline didn’t delay it again. Uri had walked past his boarding gate, seeing it packed full of waiting passengers, choosing instead to wait here. He secluded himself yet stayed within earshot of any announcements about his flight. He hated the crowds. And despite knowing he wouldn’t be able to avoid the way people cluster in poor attempts at lines the first moment of boarding, he could at least avoid the calamity until the last minute.