This was supposed to be a weekend of fun for the Cohen family. Little Rafael was supposed to be at home with his chill babysitter while his parents went on a romantic getaway to a special hotel for adults only. He was going to order takeout, and stay up all night watching the R rated films he wasn't allowed to. That is, until the babysitter got some severe food poisoning, and there wasn't anyone who could care for the young boy at the last minute. It was also too late to cancel the trip to get a refund. So here he was, bored out of his wits while his parents stood at the front desk doing everything they could to convince the hotel to let him stay.
After what felt like forever, they finally convinced the employee manning the front desk to take it up to the manager, who took one look at Rafael playing on his Switch Lite, and smirked. "Don't worry," he told his parents. "You're not the first couple to end up in this predicament here. We have a special procedure for moments like this."
He then nodded to the concierge, who nodded back and left her post. The woman held a hand out to Rafael with a warm smile. "Come on," she said. "I'll take you to a super special room while your parents work out all the boring stuff."
Rafael followed her as she led them through an unmarked door. As they left, he heard the manager say, "how would you like an upgrade for your troubles? A cute couple like you should love our hon-" before the door closed on him.
A few twisty corridors later, and Rafael found himself inside a sterile room with dark walls, and modern furniture. Off to the side, he could see a small bathroom that was just as bland. It looked more like a doctor's office than a playroom. Why they thought this was a good place to wait was beyond him. At least the lobby had that cool water fountain and a few plants to brighten up the room.
The woman hadn't followed him inside, so he made himself uncomfortable on one of the dull chairs until she burst through the door carrying a cumbersome cardboard box. She stopped in the center and carefully tipped its contents out onto the floor. Rafael's eyes widened, it was a bunch of toys! A very weird selection of toys. Cuddly toys, action figures, board games, trading cards, even a few game consoles. He could feel his hands twitching as he wanted to rummage through himself, but the concierge lady stopped him.
"Ah-ah-ah," she chided. "You're only allowed to choose one toy. Then we'll begin the process."
Only one toy!? Rafael frowned. That was hardly fair when there were dozens to choose from. And he had to be the only kid at the resort, it wasn't like he had to share! Still, there was a sense that this was an important decision. He quickly discarded the girls toys like the plushies and the dolls from the equation, not wanting to even touch them. Then he reluctantly discarded the video game consoles, since there was no TV to connect them to. In the end, from the meager selection left, he reached out and grabbed a colorful 9x9 square cube.
The woman nodded her head in approval. "Ah, the Rubik's Cube. An interesting choice. The most popular Christmas gift in 1980, if you didn't know. Not too old, but still a little retro." She ruffled his hair with a smile, and pointed back to the chairs. "Now go and sit down while the grown ups work out this little mess you've managed to put us in."
