A story that includes something fantastic

In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells a story that is at one and the same time whimsical, fable-like, and yet also very realistic. He does this by infusing the fantastic elements of the story with concrete details that make it impossible to think of the story as a fairy tale. An example is the description of the old man’s wings…they are not at all ‘angelic,’ but decrepit, and foul.
Write a story that includes something fantastic, but make it real, with details that make it impossible for the reader to think of it as a fairy tale.
This prompt is an invitation to the imagination, and to the craft of detail. For example, this happened to me:
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I came home to my building last Wednesday night and found a man in a Halloween costume lying down by the recycling bins, groaning as if he were in pain. I went carefully down the steps and saw it was a grown man wearing a blue costume with a red cape. He lay on his side with one arm covering his face.
“Are you alright?” I said, and immediately recognized the absurdity of my question, Of course he was not alright.
A light from behind one of the plastic bins at his feet caught my attention: a green glow pulsing against the concrete. A leather strap snaked from behind the bin, and was tied to his ankle.
He lifted his arm and looked at me with pained eyes.
“Help me,” he said.
I pulled the bin away from the wall. Tied to the other end of the leather strap was a great block the size of a brick, glowing neon green.
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