Now Departing, Last Dryer on the Left

Illustration generated by ChatGPT

Pablito was lying on the long fiberglass bench under the front window of the laundromat. The air was thick with the smell of detergent and bleach, and the morning felt as if it would stretch on forever. 

It was no fun being the only kid at the laundromat.

There weren’t even any interesting people to watch today. In fact, the only other person in the laundromat this morning besides Pablito and his mom was an old man he didn’t recognize sitting on the adjacent bench.

The man didn’t seem to be washing any laundry. He was just sitting there, patiently, like he was waiting for something. Pablito swiveled around so he was hanging upside down with his feet on the back of the bench and his head near the ground.

From this angle, he could see the man’s feet. He was wearing a funny looking pair of boots, rubber ones that came up to the mid calf. They looked like they were meant for walking through water and didn’t match the brown suit he was wearing. Other than the odd boots, he was dressed like he was going on a trip.

As Pablo hung upside down the man checked his watch and stood up. Pablo assumed he was going to leave, but instead of walking to the door, he walked to the back of the laundromat and opened the last dryer in the row. As Pablito watched from his upside down vantage point, the man climbed into the dryer and closed the door behind him.

When the man didn’t come out again after a few minutes, Pablito rolled backwards off the bench, scrambled to his feet and ran over to his mom where she was putting another load into a washer. “Mama, did you see that man?” he asked her. She finished shaking powdered detergent from the box into the machine, then turned around and looked over her shoulder in both directions. “What man?” she said.

“The man who was sitting over there,” Pablo pointed. His mother clucked her tongue dismissively. “Que hombre?” she said. “There was no man. We are the only ones here, mijo.”

Pablito flopped back down on his bench in a huff. When his mother was busy, she never listened. Martians could land on the laundromat roof and she would still be annoyed with him for telling her about it.

Time continued to pass in slow motion, with only the rhythmic slosh and hum of the machines, and the sound of his mom on the phone with his Tia, sharing their usual endless buzz of gossip.

Pablito made a decision. He walked to the back of the laundromat. The door on the last dryer was still closed. He could see it was empty through its little glass porthole, but the reflection on the glass wasn't of the laundromat. He felt a shiver of excitement as he reached out and grasped the door handle. He took one final glance back as his mom, still talking on the phone and folding laundry, then he opened the door and climbed in.

#Flashfiction

#Fantasy

#MagicalRealism