Holiday dangers

Chapter 1. Kate It was early in the morning, and Kate was waiting for her plane. The airport was busy at this time of a year. People were moving from here to there with quick steps. They were all in a terrible hurry, like they were dealing with life and death situations. She strained her ears trying to hear the boarding call for her flight, but the crowd at the airport was too much. All she could hear was the constant buzzing of the crowd and their cell phones. The noise overpowered every other sound. Some would say that it was a completely ordinary day for such a big and busy city, but around the holidays it became much, much worse. She liked to observe the crowd. How that many people moved almost like a single unity. It had been a little over ten years since she moved to this big city, and she was still amazed by such large crowds of people in one place. Maybe it was the instincts of a girl from a small town that spoke in her, but she found it hard to get accustomed to such big crowds. Many of the people passing by wore long coats or winter jackets, probably preparing to go on vacation to colder regions. But she also saw a group of girls wearing colorful garlands of fake flowers around their necks. They were giggling among themselves and constantly taking selfies. They are probably going to Hawaii, to escape the winter and to enjoy in the tropics for the holidays. How she envied them. She would also like to sunbathe on a beach and enjoy the colorful cocktails. Winter was not her favorite season, she didn't like the cold too much. And unfortunately, her birthplace was known for its long and excruciatingly cold winters. That was one of the reasons why she couldn't wait to leave her hometown. Everyone was going somewhere for the holidays. She was no exception, but she would prefer to stay home in her cozy bed or in her office finishing off her new designs. But a promise is a promise, and she did promise her mother that she would be back home for the holidays this year. She had avoided them all these past years by saying she had too much work to finish, but this year she couldn't avoid the family gathering. She hated Christmas and holidays generally. This whole holy jolly atmosphere seemed fake to her. All of these people faked happiness because that is what was expected of them. All those many Merry Christmas movies and commercials with Santa Clauses imposed that standard on us. And people accepted all these things too quickly, and it seemed like during the holidays everything was nice and bright because everyone forgot what kind of reality we actually live in. Christmas was a perfect capitalistic holiday in her opinion. People were thought to buy, buy, buy. To shop for presents and useless trinkets that nobody actually needs. And to spend, spend, spend their hard-earned money endlessly. Every single person near her was carrying red and green bags in their hands. And the bags were full of loads and loads of neatly wrapped gifts. And how could they not constantly shop when everything around them was arranged in such a way as to attract them to spend more and more money. The sellers have carefully planned and arranged the space in their shops so that every item in the window display screamed: buy me! I would be perfect for your loved ones! And of course, everything was on sale. 'Hit price' headlines were placed everywhere. You simply couldn't miss it even if you wanted to. All those ads were designed to make you feel guilty if you didn't buy anything for everyone you ever knew in your life. She, too, was guilty by her standards. In her suitcase there were also gifts for her family. But in her defense, she did not buy them. She made them herself. Nothing fancy, just sweaters. But not the ugly Christmas ones. These were regular everyday sweaters that were actually useful. And she even designed and knitted them herself. They were soft and cozy unlike the factory-made ones, because she used quality, natural fabric for making them. She was a fashion designer and she owned her own small shop. It had always been her dream to design and make clothes, ever since she was little. So, right after finishing high school, she decided to attend design school. But there was no such school in her small town, so she embarked on an adventure called independent life in a big, unknown metropolis. Her parents did not support her wish and wanted her to stay in her hometown and find a secure job that she could live on. Or maybe even go study something else, like law or medicine. Her dreams were not important to them, only stability and to being able to keep an eye on her. She knew that deep down they wanted what was best for her, or at least what they thought was best for her. But she wanted to accomplish her dreams no matter what, and she did. She studied and worked harder than anyone to achieve that. For a while, all her hard work paid off. Several of her designs became famous, and she was flooded with orders from all over. This allowed her to live comfortably and open her own little shop. Those years of her life were great. She was surrounded by friends who adored her fashion sense and she had the most wonderful and loving boyfriend. She even managed to buy her dream car, a Mustang fastback. And everything felt perfect. Yet life wasn't always easy. Her work started to lose money, and she struggled with new ideas. Trying to fix things, she got so engrossed in her work that she neglected everything else. And suddenly her life took drastic,, tourn. For the people she thought were her friends, it turned out that they were selfish and only there when everything was great, and they could get free clothes and accessories that she made. But the moment things got difficult, they all just disappeared from the face of the earth. The only thing left was their gossiping behind her back. She hated those kinds of people and that disgust and loneliness pushed her to get even more involved in her work. As the salt on the wound, even her boyfriend of many years cheated on her with one of her former friends. That made her sad, she felt like someone ripped her heart out, but she didn't break. They all betrayed her trust and stabbed her right in the heart. But in everything she had done she always succeeded alone, and she will succeed again. She needed no one. She won't brake. Her work is currently financially unstable, and she struggles with her creations, but she will overcome this obstacle as always. She wasn't some princess that needed protection. She should look on the bright side of things. Maybe this holiday vacation is just what she needs to distract her mind and stimulate new ideas. And when she survives her family reunion she will come back and continue her work. If business improves as it has in the past, she may be able to buy back her beloved Mustang that she had to sell to pay off her debts. She loved sports cars. That's something she shared with her father. She was brought out of her thoughts by a voice over the public address system announcing that the passengers should get ready to board. "Passengers to board flight AA 3817 from Chicago to Minneapolis should prepare for boarding at terminal L13." It was her plane. So she grabbed the handle of her small black suitcase and headed for the boarding area.