Swiss Army Knife

7 0 0
                                    

The light inside the Swiss airport entrance was dim, even with the floodlights for the entrance and carpark outside. With this, Raoul was finding it hard not to sleep, let alone the 27 hours he had been awake trying not to miss his flights. He sat up, flexing from side to side and grunting as his bones clicked as a result. Bones clicking always put him on edge. Raoul looked up at the flights, 'DELAYED' being a reoccurring theme. Raoul leant back on the bench, the back of his head hitting the glass window behind him with a thud. Raoul let out an exasperated sigh, wishing he was tired enough not to feel the hard surface of the glass so he could relax, waiting for his flight to be announced.

20 minutes passed almost like an hour to Raoul, the gentle murmur of midnight arrival passengers in the airport and the squeaking of baggage car wheels. He finally decided to get up and explore the small food court, not feeling hungry but more a sense of finding something to cure his lingering boredom. Raoul walked over, various restaurants including fast food joints, sushi kitchens and to his surprise, Turkish cuisine. Raoul then glanced over to the more miscellaneous shops that being a newsagents and a key cutter, the key cutter for some reason selling metallic goods such as beer tankards, lighters and Swiss army knives.

The key cutter sparked his interest. Raoul had seen them before but never really felt the need to use them back in the U.S. He'd only ever had one apartment and never lost his keys, therefore never required new or cut keys. Raoul wandered over, the lethargic merchant looking somewhere in his late 20s. The shopkeep perked up as soon as he heard Raoul's footsteps. "Hello there." came a bearish German accent. The man had a stern expression and and a posture that reminded Raoul of someone with backache. The man sat up in his small stool, almost reaching Raoul's  height. "Hey, how much does the Swiss Army Knife cost?" Raoul replied.

The shopkeep looked at the board behind him, "29 euros and 45 cents." he said, swivelling back around to face Raoul. Raoul took his wallet out, placing 30 euros worth of notes on the steel-framed glass counter. "Thanks." the shopkeep spoke quietly, grabbing a Swiss knife from beneath the counter, placing it on the surface. He took Raoul's cash and opened his till, putting the notes inside, fumbling the 55 cents out and handing them to Raoul. Raoul took change and knife exchanging gentle nod and smile. The shopkeep sunk into his stool, obviously not in the mood for any more communication with Raoul. Raoul shrugged and walked off back to his seat.

Raoul sat back down, fiddling with his new gadget, pulling the various tools out of their slots and pushing them back much to his satisfaction. Raoul continued toying the knife until he heard a call for his flight, picking up his bag and making his way along to the queue. He continued to move along to the queue until the security checkpoint. Raoul went through the checkpoint, his metal objects being approved and water bottle checked. He packed his items back in his duffle bag, zipping it up and walking off to board his plane. The plane was a Airbus 319-100, a twin jet engine aircraft relatively small in light of the Boeings taking off from the airport. Raoul didn't mind though, less people made less noise. Raoul boarded, found his seat, buckled in for his flight and fell asleep.

 Raoul boarded, found his seat, buckled in for his flight and fell asleep

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
All-American Exiles Where stories live. Discover now