Saturday is a day of exploration. Akari had made that commitment when she moved out of Tokyo just two weeks prior. No more would it be a day of wasted sunlight and unfilled purpose to be spent lounging on the couch reading about life instead of going out to experience it. During the five years she had lived in Tokyo she hid inside her apartment away from the crowds, except to go to work. But since quitting her safe, secure corporate job to work on her manga novels full time, her life was different and she would be too. Now that Akari lived away from the mad rush she was determined to go out on nature hikes, visiting the local shrines, eating new food, maybe even meeting new friends (ok, meeting any friends) and this would be the Saturday to start it all!
Or it was going to be until she awoke to the soft patter of rain and reports of thunderstorms in the area all afternoon. So instead today would be a day of laundry and housework. The washer buzzed quietly from the back of the house Akari put her book beside her on the table to get up and tend to it. She would have liked to take the washing out into the yard to hang out to dry for the first time but the same rain that canceled her plans would certainly prove a hindrance to that. In her apartment she was always forced to hang her clothes out on the balcony but now she had a small, private garden that she was anxious to utilize but the dyer would have to do today instead. Even if they were a waste of electricity, she was grateful that this new house had one.
Akari twisted her dark hair back in a bun away so it would be away from her face as she leaned down into the washing machine to gather out her damp clothes, puffing in annoyance as she struggled to reach a navy sock plastered to the backside of the machine. Making a mental note to pick up a foot stool later, Akari put a foot down on the floor and pushed off to leverage herself into position to grab the stray sock when it pulled away from her stretched fingertips, instead flopping down into the bottom of the cylinder instead. She jerked her hand back out and looked around the room, grabbing a hanger off of the rack to poke the rouge sock with safely. Just as she was about to make contact the sock began to rise up off the bottom of the washer towards her. Akari shrank back away from it wishing now she had made the time to go pray at the shrines before the rain had stated, maybe the spirits of the region would have taken pity on her but now it was too late. Instead she would die alone in her washroom attacked by a bubble?
Before Akari could escape the room the sock had floated up to the top of the washer riding on a soap bubble. She reached onto the shelf behind her to check what brand of detergent she had bought at the store when she noticed the bubble was gone. Akari took a step back forward to look down into the washing machine seeing the bubble at the bottom of the washer again near the drain holes but now it looked an awful lot like a cat.
“Wait,”Akari called quietly as the sudsy feline attempted to make its exit. “Thank you for the help.”
The cat paced back to the side of the basin to look up at her. From behind it more bubbles started foaming out of the holes. Some looked like little foxes and many looked like tiny chickens that they were chasing about. Akari stared down in wonder as the bottom of the machine filled up with life. Tiny bubble dogs skittered across the metal recklessly as they chased one another. Elephants blew larger bubbles from their noses and bubble snails slid up the side of the basin. One of the elephants even sneezed so hard it popped, scattering it’s form across the scene before coming back together as a peacock and strutting off in the opposite direction. Above the fray the cat sat on the agitator, keeping an eye on the circus below. Akari reached cautiously into the pocket of her house coat and pulled out a notebook to start sketching the spectacle. No sooner had she gotten the cat’s likeness at knock came from the front door. She rushed to answer it, pulling the delivered package barely inside of the doorway before running back through the house again to find all of the bubble animals had gone.
The next Saturday was a beautiful one. The sun was up high in the sky but the temperature was still pleasant and a gentle breeze rolled through the trees. In town Akita had seen advertisements around about a festival happening that day as well as a new bus tour starting up in the area. But exploration and self-discovery would have to wait another week because she had laundry to do.
From the prompt “opening a washing machine to find animals”.
The Try Hard Writer 