The Line

Mipper was standing in line. He was nervous. Oooh he had to get to the spot where the line was headed. He fixed his nervous eyes on the thing he was waiting for.

The wait. The wait. Why was there such a wait? Why did he have to participate in this system? Couldn't he just... go get the thing he wanted? No. He had to wait. That's what we all decided. What was keeping him from getting the thing he was waiting for? More people. People in front of him.

What would happen if Mipper broke the rules and surpassed the system.
"Hey stop that man!" everyone would say.
"Where do you think you're going?" they ask.
"You can't do that!" they tell him.
"We are going to beat you up now!" they'd threaten.
All those seemed like very likely risks. And very risky likelihoods.

Mipper wanted to get these people out of his way. He took tiny mini tidbit steps closer. Even though the person in front of him wasn't taking his tidbit steps too. Mipper was no closer to his goal. He shifted from foot to foot.

"Grrgh.." he grunted and grumbled to himself.
"Huff. Puff." he heavily breathed.

Behind him were more people clustered together, wanting to get to the thing at the end of the line. What was happening? Something happened. Did Mipper just feel the woman behind him graze him with her shoulder? It was more than a graze it was a full on bump. And what now? Was that woman taking a step forward when there wasn't a step forward to take?

Mipper stared at the woman. But the woman didn't look at Mipper. Did she not notice Mipper was standing right there? Did she not notice that his place in line was in front of her? And she was stepping into his tacit box?

Mipper was getting very anxious. What if she stepped in front of him. What would he say? His brain thoughts boiled with intensity. He thought of the harsh and incredulous tones he'd use to question what she was doing. She still hadn't looked at Mipper or acknowledged him. Then she spoke. To her teenage daughter, who was standing next to her. She didn't seem to notice or consider Mipper's inner turmoil.

Mipper refocused his energy to in front of him. This woman behind him didn't seem to have an conscience for inching up against the rules. Mipper was gonna take a page from her book. He took a step forward.

"Uh, excuse me pal I'm standing here too." said the brassy man in front of him.
"Oh, oh, sorry, uh..." said Mipper, pretending he was oblivious, like the woman behind him.

Mipper suffered til he got to the end of the line. Years late he took up meditation and lines were no longer an issue for some reason.