The Traveller.

The departure lounge at Toronto's Pearson International airport was extremely crowded. Fog had delayed many flights and hundreds of passengers had been left stranded. The weather, however, had lifted and flights were about to resume. Esther Thornton waited patiently for her flight to New York to be called. Over the general hubbub of noisy boredom, a man's voice stood out. Esther struggled to understand him, as he made his way toward her, dressed in an expensive business suit and with a leather lap-top case slung over his shoulder.
'Please, anyone with a ticket for the next New York flight?', his voice sounded desperate, as Esther thought to re-schedule her travel plans to accommodate this stranger in need. Tentatively holding up her hand, she saw him look across at her and smile. He began to wade through the mass of waiting passengers toward her.
'Can I help you?', she asked, ' I'm booked on the 10.30 but I'm in no hurry.'
'Thanks,' he replied, the relief in his voice self-evident, ' I've an important meeting in Wall Street and my secretary booked a later flight by mistake. It's imperative that I get there on time. I'd be so grateful if you'd agree to exchange. I'll handle any charges and pay you $500 cash, so you would'nt be out of pocket. Oh,I'm Lester Mackenzie.' he said extending his hand.
Together,they went to the flight desk where credentials were examined, passports checked and the booking was altered. Esther's companion handed her 5 crisp,new $100 bills, which she accepted graciously and eased into her purse as he disappeared into the teeming throng.
She returned to the waiting area just in time to hear the New York flight being called. It was sometime later when her ears strained to hear an announcement over the public address system.
'WE REGRET TO ANNOUNCE FURTHER DELAYS TO FLIGHTS IN AND OUT OF PEARSON INTERNATIONAL.ALL RUNWAYS ARE CLOSED FOLLOWING THE COLLISION OF TWO AIRCRAFT ON THE GROUND.THE AIRPORT WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.'
Looking across to a wall-mounted television close-by, Esther was shocked to see the story of the disaster scrolling along the bottom of the screen, '....... involving the Silver Airline's 10.30 scheduled flight to New York.There has been considerable loss of life......'
The words chilled her to the bone as she hurried to the Silver Airline desk.
'I'm sorry,' said the assistant, ' but we have no information on casualties at this time.'
Esther listened in disbelief, as the assistant, her fingers tapping onto a hidden key-board,said,
'But I can tell you that we have no-one by that name listed on the flight.'
Slowly edging away in stunned silence,she fumbled with the clasp of her purse.There,tucked away inside were 5 crisp,new $100 bills!