Boy who cannot smell

"Is it done now?". asked the boy.

"No".

"Now".

"No".

"Now".

"Stop it". Can't you do it for yourself? I really wonder why your nose blocks every time we have chemistry laboratory and seriously I am fed up of smelling your stuff and telling you the answers. I feel like your personal sniffer dog".

"Hey, I am sorry" said the boy.

He knew he irritated his friends by asking for such favors during the practical examinations especially when strict examiner was around. He thought he would wait till she came back on her own. Today was their internal for chemistry lab. They had to smell the odor of chemical reactions to know what chemical substance they had been given. The problem was that he could not smell any kind of odor. He had anosmia - the absence or loss of the sense of smell. Like any other teenager, he felt very uncomfortable telling people about his weakness. He and his family came to know about his disease when he was 10. This happened when their house was about to burn down due to a defective electric cable. He was inside the house which was full of pungent burning plastic odor and was completely unaffected by it but it was another story. Now he was in the first year of college.

"It’s magnisium oxide" said his friend looking around not to be caught by examiner.

"Thanks". He smiled back at her. He knew she would come back.

"I really wonder what you would do without me" his friend said with smile on her face.

"Well thats a difficult question. I guess I would have to hire an assitant then". Said the boy

"Loser" said his friend and smiled.

After completing there internal they reached cafeteria for lunch.

"Lets sit there" said the boy.

"No, its very near to the kitchen and very smelly".

"I like the smell of food."

"I know you like all the smells except that of magnesium oxide."

They both smiled. She looked for a place near the window while the boy came back with two cold drinks and a sandwich from the new vendor.

"Hey, do you think it got rotten". asked the girl

"Let me see"

He picked the food and brought it near his nose.

"Well its smells ok but to judge the food you have to taste it..."

He took a bite of her food and swallowed it.

"...as smell is very deceptive...phewwww. Yes its rotten and What the heck was it and it tasted awful"

"Well it tasted good last time I ate it 2 months ago"

He looked at his friend and smiled. She had a nice smile. He heard his classmates saying she smells extraordinarily good. He loved her but could never smell her.

They were sitting on the library after lunch making notes for the next examination.

"Dude, you stink!!" he said to fat boy sitting ahead of them. He turned around and gave him a nasty look.

"I thought you had a choked nose today".

"Yes you thought right. I have choked nose not chocked ears". Said the boy without looking at him.

"Hey I remember my brother came from Paris". She opened zip of her bag and put a hand rummaging something. "I asked him to bring you good perfume. Here it is".

He remembered in the last annual day to impress her he put lot of strong perfume. Though it was a story from 27 months ago, people still laughed and claimed they could still smell that fragrance in the school campus.

Perfume from then always brought a smile to his face. He brought the bottle close to his face. "It’s awesome. Thanks" said the boy.

Suddenly the bell rang. "Let’s go. I'll drop you home" said the boy. Also I need my sniffer dog for buying a fresh bouquet for my mom and dad's anniversary.

They both smiled and start walking towards parking lot.

Speed Of Life

It was Friday evening. Most of the people in his office left early as this was going to be a long weekend. He also left the office two hours before normal time and headed to his favorite bar. He sat at his regular place. "You are on time again. How do you manage to be on time, every time?!!" a beautiful voice cooed. He smiled and looked in the direction of the voice. There was nobody. It was four in the afternoon. The whole bar was empty and apart from him and a waiter there was nobody there. But he knew that the voice was not an illusion. So what if it existed in the past - it did exist. He asked the waiter to bring one more large Talisker. His father was a connoisseur of alcohol and liked this single malt with a smoky flavor a lot. And so did him. "Here it is sir" said the waiter, putting the glass on the table. This was his 5th large peg. His mother loved him very much but always despised people who drink and so after drinking he always used to feel that some hidden camera was capturing his image and telecasting it directly to his mother wherever she was. The thought itself freaked him out.
He put the key in the ignition and started his bike. He was high and so was his bike. He passed the school and suddenly applied the brake on time. The school had just closed for the day. Kids were crossing the road. They were mostly in groups chatting and making fun of each other. It reminded him of his friends who were far from him, but still close to his heart. Most of the kids had soiled uniforms and skinned elbows and knees. Suddenly he thought he saw a face on his bike mirror and he turned around. She was not there. "I wish I was a kid again. Skinned knees are a lot easier to fix than a broken heart". He started bike again after the kids had crossed the road.
He was on Highway 25 now, which, although farther in distance to his place didn't have much traffic on it and hence it could save him some 20 odd minutes. The sky was changing color and so was his mood. He accelerated the bike. He heard the whistle of a train this time. He looked at the train running parallel to his road in the same direction. Train was speeding ahead asking him for a race. He hated to loose as much he loved to win. He was intercollegiate cross country motorbike champion. Participated three times, won two years consecutively and did not show up in the last competition as he was with his girl friend. She was leaving country for short term assignment in London. Short is a relative term, her short term was still not over after 7 years. By the way they broke up after 2 years from her departure. "I wish I could fly" he said to himself. His hands moved on the accelerator and the needle started showing maximum speed now. He was looking at the train which was now falling slightly behind. Suddenly out of nowhere a truck came in front of him. A collision and he flew up. Life has been strange, it always gives you things least expected and makes you long for the things you always want. Just 2 hours before he was in the bar drinking and thinking about his life. He had been trying to go outside for 4 years but life did not hear his wish. But his unexpected wish of flying which was made a couple of seconds before was answered. He flew for 6 seconds before whammed on the ground.

"I wish life has an undo button" he talked to himself one last time. The sky was again changing color....this time to black and so was his life.