The Lint Imp

The door opened, and a thin, middle aged balding man entered. The dryer had recently stopped, and he promptly gathered his clothing into the green fabric hamper. He then cleaned the dryer filter with a few swipes of his hand and dumped the lint into a nearby small garbage can, left with his clothes, and flicked off the light.

After a moment, a small bipedal creature with dark blue skin and dust-covered messy hair emerged from the hole behind the dryer, its large green eyes watchful. Nostrils flared, and the wonderful scent of lint prompted him to move swiftly to the fluffy treasure.

With greedy grunts of satisfaction, he reached into the trash, grabbed a handful of dark grey lint, and stuffed it into his toothy maw. He tucked the rest under his arm when he saw it-

A large white sock.

Usually the man was thorough in making sure every piece of clothing was accounted for. Even a stray piece of lint that falls to the floor rarely escaped his notice.

The imp slowly reached for the sock in delight. It could make a nice blanket, or maybe-

Squeak!

Suddenly, the wooden door swung open, causing the imp to fall back on his bottom, mouth agape and eyes wide. The bulb-housed ceiling lamp flooded the room with light.

"Weeou," the imp uttered in surprise.

The man stopped in mid-step, his face frozen in shock.

"Aaa!" he exclaimed.

The imp's tiny mind raced. After all these years- to be discovered! His limbs tingled, and he soon felt light-headed and nauseous. Unable to move, he whimpered and lowered his head to the floor.

A moment passed. "W-what are you?" the man asked.

The imp slowly lifted his head and made eye contact. "Lllii-liint. Iii-iiimmp," he replied with great difficulty.

The man looked perplexed. Monsters did not exist, and yet here was one communicating with him. "Lint imp?"he inquired.

His outdated fliptop cell phone had no camera... and was in the bedroom.

It could be dangerous! I've got to call the police, or a friend to come over to show someone. But it might disappear if I leave to get it.

The creature pointed to the dryer door, then held up the lint he'd salvaged from the trash. He popped it in his mouth, smiled, then tilted his head. He towards, then walked to the wall behind the dryer, and gestured for the man to follow. The man did, and noticed a small hole the creature stood by.

"Hoooome," said the imp.

The man's brows furrowed. "But you're a monster!"

The imp looked down dejectedly, then offered up the sock to the human.

The human claimed the sock and his gaze softened. Suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Have you seen my eye mask?" he asked.

The imp looked at him in puzzlement, then understanding, and rushed off to his lair.

I guess this housemate won't be paying rent.

The imp returned with the  dust-covered eye mask and a hopeful expression.

"Thanks. Oh, I'm Jeff..."