The boy’s feet kept swinging, less energetic now but just as disruptive. Daniel stared out the window, determined not to give the family another thought, but the injustice gnawed at him. All he’d asked for was basic courtesy. Instead, he’d been made to feel like the problem.
He thought of work, of the moments he’d stayed silent to avoid confrontation—the extra hours, the swallowed criticism, the way he let small slights accumulate until they became a heaviness in his chest. This train, this seat, this moment—it was the last straw.
A train attendant rolled by with a cart of snacks and drinks, and Daniel barely managed a smile. “Water, please,” he murmured. She handed him a cup filled with ice, the cold beads dripping onto his hand. He held it, feeling the chill seep into his skin. It steadied him for a moment.
Then came another kick—sharp, unyielding. His grip on the cup tightened. Something in him shifted. He’d had enough.
The boy’s feet kept swinging, less energetic now but just as disruptive. Daniel stared out the window, determined not to give the family another thought, but the injustice gnawed at him. All he’d asked for was basic courtesy. Instead, he’d been made to feel like the problem.
He thought of work, of the moments he’d stayed silent to avoid confrontation—the extra hours, the swallowed criticism, the way he let small slights accumulate until they became a heaviness in his chest. This train, this seat, this moment—it was the last straw.
A train attendant rolled by with a cart of snacks and drinks, and Daniel barely managed a smile. “Water, please,” he murmured. She handed him a cup filled with ice, the cold beads dripping onto his hand. He held it, feeling the chill seep into his skin. It steadied him for a moment.
Then came another kick—sharp, unyielding. His grip on the cup tightened. Something in him shifted. He’d had enough.