Travellers journal

Flash fiction in a public toilet

I never know how I end up in places. It just happens. There is no rational explanation. One moment I don't exist and then, boom — I am in some random place.

I am standing in a public toilet. White walls. A clean, bright public toilet.

I am alone, looking around, trying to figure out how the hell I end up here.

A couple comes in. Young lady with a guy. They look at me, smile. They walk by, still smiling. They disappear in one of the cubicles. A few minutes pass. She comes out, still smiling, talking on a phone and looking at me. I can’t understand what she says, I don’t understand the language she speaks. She is attractive, longish hair, brunette. Flowery top, trousers. The funny part is that we are in a public toilet but it doesn’t feel weird. Usually, toilets are not a place for smiles. One comes in, does whatever they need to do and gets out.

I make a joke about them not spending too much time in the cubical. She laughs, without any sign of embarrassment. Then it hit me, the toilet is just a front. It’s a portal. I walk towards the exit door, I open it…. and I am gone into the abyss.

It’s always the same. I don’t know how I appear in places and how I disappear from them.