Last night, around midnight, we awoke startled by the crash of the hairdryer hitting the floor. The impact turned it on, filling the bedroom with the sound of warm air bellowing through the darkness.
The hairdryer hangs next to the vanity in the the bedroom, on a hook on the wall and is plugged in to the electrical outlet. I use it daily, one of those unremarkable domestic tools that serve for years with little fanfare.
The crash of the hairdryer frightened the dog, Sandy, who immediately started barking.
My husband leaped from the bed, located the hair dryer and tried to shut it off. Failing this, he pulled the plug from the wall socket. Meanwhile, I shushed the dog and reassured the girls, both of whom were now awake also.
After a few minutes, the quiet stillness of the night returned. But I couldn’t go back to sleep and lay there, wondering, what might have caused the hairdryer all the sudden to fall?
Explanation #1
I bought the hairdryer years ago. It is well used, well loved. Perhaps the cord from which it hangs finally broke?
Explanation #2
I used the hairdryer yesterday at 8am. Perhaps I didn’t hang it back on its hook properly. Gravity exerts a force and over time the force grew and grew, potential energy building, until the weight of the gravity tipped the scales against the cord holding the dryer on the hook. It broke or snapped and fell crashing to the floor. I’m no physicist and not even certain this is possible. Still I like the idea of science playing a nefarious role. In these times when science and facts are threatened by fascism and politics, I tend to veer away from any thing that might be viewed as ‘toying’ with science. Still the idea interests me and I make a mental note to research gravity and potential energy in the morning. (I later forget said mental note.)
Explanation #3
Earthquakes are common in our area, especially along the Iran/Iraq border a few hundred kilometers north of us. Perhaps an earthquake or a tremor happened in the night and sent waves of energy in all directions including south through Kuwait. The energy might have caused our building to sway for just a few seconds, for a few nanoseconds, long enough to cause the hairdryer’s cord to dance on its hook, dislodging itself and spiraling to the tile floor below. I like this explanation primarily for the sequencing:
Earthquake > waves of energy radiating out > energy reaches Kuwait > building sways > hair dryer falls > impact turns the hair dryer on > dog barks > we all wake up.
I could map this out, draw it with diagrams and illustrations. Somehow the cause and effect, likely totally illusory, is nonetheless immensely satisfying.
Explanation #4
The jinn that lives in our complex snapped the hairdryer off the hook, sending it crashing to the floor, causing it to turn on and wake all of us. She’s been absent for a while, doesn’t like dogs. But Sandy was asleep and might not have heard her waft into the room. She’s harmless for the most part, mischievous and attention-seeking but not hateful.
My husband totally denies the jinn. I prefer to give her the benefit of doubt. It feels creepy, kind of scary to think a jinn haunts our building, tiptoeing into the bedroom, fading in and out of walls at all hours of the night just to mess with my reliable, aging hair dryer. Maybe she is lonely or at the least, bored. I get that. These last few months have been hard on all of us, the pandemic-fatigue has set in and we are all just waiting for this situation to end.
Now its 2am and I’m out of possibilities. Well almost…I’ll save the alien invasion for another night.
(To read another story about our resident jinn, check out my story Lemonade and Jinn here. It’s the second story in the anthology and you can read more about it in the ‘Look Inside’ feature.)