"Noah's Ark" by Ted Burnett (Painting)
The Laundromat
The hum of the machines was getting really loud. A lady just put herself inside one, and right now it’s eating her all up. I can hear her bouncing in the machine, it shakes every time she comes around. I want to check if she’s all ok but I’m not tall enough to look inside.
Next to the machine is this man on his knees, crying and yelling. I don’t know why he’s upset, but I’ve never seen a man cry like this before. He is perched on top of folded legs, his knees are digging into the tile floor. His arms are like jelly at his sides, his hands open to the bright lights above. His head is cocked up, his mouth open to the air and the ugly ceiling. He moans and cries. Cries and moans.
“Julie!” he yells.
“Julie, I'm ...I'm sorry. I should….sh sh should have never...never left you alone!”
“It’s all my fault Jules…”
He wails. “Jules!!”
What’s strange is that the man can’t seem to see me. I’m standing only a couple feet away, yet he must be too busy crying to notice me. I’m a little scared to approach him, for I fear he might be too sad for my company. I feel sad for him. He’s all alone on the floor, crying about a Julie I don’t know. And no one is listening.
“I love you Jules!! I miss… I miss you!”
“You left so… so early. Why??”
“Where did you go!? Jules!”
I’m not sure what to do. This man needs help finding this girl, but I don’t know where she is. I don’t even know where I am. There’s an awful amount of blood on the floor. On the machines too. There’s also this man on the floor that must be dead. I’ve never seen a dead person before, but judging by the blood...he must be dead. I want to leave, but where shall I go? I don’t know where home is. I’m really lost and I’m starting to get scared.
“Jules...Julie…is that you?”
The man stops crying. He starts to look directly at me.
“Jules… baby… come here!”
He reaches out his hand towards my face. I lunge back. I don’t know this man. He slides off his knees and begins to crawl, crazily, towards me. His eyes are fixed on mine and he looks really desperate. Tears are flowing down his cheeks, his body shakes as it makes its way across the bloody floor towards me. I keep stepping back. I don’t want him to hurt me. This man seems dangerous.
“Stop! Jules… come here. It’s Danny!”
So that’s what his name is. Danny.
Danny’s hand slides on the floor and his body collapses into the blood. He immediately gets back up and lunges at me once more. I let out a little scream. He doesn’t seem to hear me. I fall on my butt. Now I’m sliding across the floor, backwards towards the wall. Danny reaches for me and even though I’m moving as fast as I can, he is able to grab a hold of my foot. I start screaming really loud now. The blood is seeping into my dress, and with each second I feel heavier and heavier.
“Julie! I love you! I never meant to… to leave you… alone!”
“Jules stop!”
He has me by the foot and I can’t resist his strength, so instead of fighting him any longer, I just stop. I lay down and scrunch myself into a little ball. The world becomes dark as I shield my eyes with my arms. I can smell the blood and it smells disgusting. I begin to cry. I want to get out. I want to go home!
Danny suddenly lets go. He stops sliding. I peer out from under my arms.
He takes a few deep breaths and starts to stand up really slowly. He stumbles at first into one of the machines and then begins to walk. As he comes towards me, I cover my eyes again. But nothing happens. I wait for his big boots to crush me but I don’t feel anything. I wait a little longer. Nothing.
“Jules! It’s me! Your brother...Danny!”
My brother? I take a look but he’s gone. He must have passed over me. I turn behind me only to catch him stumbling out the door. I watch it as it slowly sways shut. The light from outside makes my eyes hurt. I rub them hard.
Now, the man on the floor is gone. And so is all the blood. The machines have stopped churning, and before I can stand up, I feel someone’s hand on the back of my neck. I instantly turn around, and there standing over me is a grey old lady with a wrinkly smile. She picks me up and places me on top of one of the machines.
I look inside the one to my left and all I can see is the little face of a girl. Surrounded by a churning blur of mostly white, her face looks like mine. I keep looking and so does this little girl. I take my hand and I give the glass a good knock.
Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark.”
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