Mini-story: Time To Go

I’d been sitting in the small room for more than an hour, and I knew that I should be getting annoyed by now. But, strangely, I wasn’t. The lights were fluorescent strips, all working perfectly, and the walls were a plain and even slightly dull white. Nothing was particularly old or worn, but nothing was brand new either. I was vaguely aware that there were notices pinned to a cork board near the door, but I had no interest in reading them. They had brought me here directly from the highway, and the more I thought about it, that was strange too. I didn’t remember anyone asking if I needed medical attention, but maybe that was just because I was obviously fine. I certainly felt fine. But wouldn’t there be after-effects, especially psychological ones? Maybe that was why I was there. We had only been about forty minutes out from the airport when the seatbelt sign illuminated, and we were instructed to all return to our seats immediately. It was the immediately that made me switch off the…