>>56963444As it turns out, bathroom stalls are cramped. They are even less roomy when two people and a modestly large luggage bag are crammed into one, as Florian and Kieran had found out not ten minutes before their flight to Paldea was due to be loaded. Wrapped up in an unseasonal amount of jackets, leggings, and scarves, Kieran, as the smaller of the two, somehow, was the unlucky soul who had to ride in the cargo hold. “Do I really have to?” he whined as Florian unzipped the bag.
“You know how that coin flipped,” Florian reminded him. “You chose heads, and we both know what came up.” The bag was inviting, almost, with its inconspicuous air holes poked throughout the fuzzy interior. “Now please get in soon,” he begged, “I don’t want to make you stay in there any longer than you have to.”
Eventually, after a little more fussing, Kieran crawled his way into the open bag, and curled himself up into the fetal position. “Like this, right?”
“Exactly,” his friend reassured him, “And remember: slow, shallow breaths, alright?”
“Just like I’m climbing a mountain.”
“You got it,” Florian quipped, before he slowly zipped up the bag in its entirety. Flushing the toilet for good measure, it wasn’t long before he had brought his luggage to the right station. The two employees present did not care that the bag they were dealing with was at least fifty kilo, but they did leer at it when it thumped onto the conveyor belt, causing Florian to damn near hold his breath until he found his seat in the waiting area. Only then could he breathe properly, and only then could he pray for his friend’s wellbeing on their flight.
