Belonging

Russian Magician

During the morning in the back of the alley, an unusual smell was protruding. It was an odd aroma quite delicate in nature, soft and sweet.

A quick glance around the corner led me to discover the source of this peculiar scent, namely a room hidden behind a large steel reinforced door. It was a toilet.

As I was entering this mysterious room, the first thing I felt was the cold against my skin.

After having my eyes momentarily adjust to the dark, I noticed that it was actually a quite large room. After my gaze darted around the room for a bit, it suddenly connected with the menacing stare of a vampire's head, staring at me from the toilet bowl. A delicate statue, for sure, very much out of place, or well, the rest of the room was what was out of place.

Approaching the statue, I couldn't help but wonder what other things in the room were waiting for me to discover them.

However, I just could not stop thinking about that strange place, the so-called "toilet". I was curious about what was happening there but what I was even more interested in was the history of this majestic location. Then I remembered! A memory crossed my mind! Fact after fact began to spur like spring buds. So I created an imaginary timeline in my head, consisting of the most relevant events, concerning the emergence of toilets.

In 315 AD, Rome had around 144 public toilets. The ancient Romans treated going to the toilet as a social event.

In Medieval England, people would simply throw their belongings through a door or a window by using the so-called "potties".

During the 19th century in overcrowded cities, such as London, up to 100 people could share the same toilet. However, in 1848, a new law was introduced: every new house should have a water closet (WC).

Suddenly, I found myself once again in front of this mystical creation, gazing at it and examining it. Fortunately, the vampire's head was not there anymore. All of a sudden, I got dragged towards the toilet bowl. I tried to resist it, but it was hopeless. In the blink of an eye I got sucked into the toilet. I thought I would end up in the sewers, but the place I found myself in did not look like one, nor did it smell like one. I could not see a thing due to my vision being blurred, probably caused by the splashing water that had entered my eyes. All I could see in front of me was an obscure humanoid creature with a portly appearance, wearing something that reminded me of a full-body spacesuit with a rather large visor and a relatively small backpack. The thing I would best liken it to would be a short Russian magician.

- What are you? What's your name? -I questioned, feeling confused.

- Name? Ah, I do not have a name. I simply do not need one. Having a name is inherent only in humans. It is merely a method to fill your mere sense of belonging.