{"id":1981,"date":"2024-05-15T06:38:37","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T06:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/?p=1981"},"modified":"2024-08-23T18:55:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T18:55:55","slug":"smell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/smell\/","title":{"rendered":"Smell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<aside class=\"other-formats\">Other formats: <a title=\"Smell (PDF)\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/ebooks\/en\/pdf\/smell.pdf\">PDF<\/a> | <a title=\"Lykt (\u00edslenska)\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/is\/lykt\/\">\u00edslenska<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1025\" height=\"1025\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?resize=1025%2C1025&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Smell \u2013 Illustration by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson\" class=\"wp-image-1982\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?w=1025&amp;ssl=1 1025w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?resize=900%2C900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?resize=500%2C500&amp;ssl=1 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1025px) 100vw, 1025px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>I sensed a strong scent of perfume when I stepped into the hallway. It disturbed me. I got all tense. It was as if I had walked into a wall. Literally into the middle of a wall. Freshly poured concrete wall. The wet and viscous concrete surrounded me and held me tight in a straitjacket. I couldn&#8217;t move. I couldn&#8217;t breathe. The dense perfume smelling concrete thrust its way into my nose and down to my lungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I waved my hands in the air, managed to break loose from the casting mold and practically flew down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, I flung the front door open and jumped onto the sidewalk. Out into the fresh air. Out of the shackles forced on me by the perfume smell. Out into freedom. I danced in circles on the sidewalk with my arms spread out and stretching my head towards the endless clear blue sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having caught my breath again, I stopped the carousel, looked straight ahead and started walking towards the ocean. A stroll along the coast was what I needed at the moment. I needed to gaze at the sea and admire the waves as they threw themselves over the beach, retreated and returned. Rhythmically and predictably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Life was so weird these days. There was so much to think about. There was so much to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI suggest we explore where you are on the autism spectrum,\u201d the psychologist had said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was the task of the moment. To break this simple sentence up into its constituent atoms and puzzle it back together taking into account everything I had heard, seen and sensed during the entire forty-six years I had been breathing on this earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smell was one of the sensations that occupied my mind these days. I could not remember having ever felt the smell of perfume as so invasive. These days I could not stand it. This sudden intolerance was so weird. Yet it felt somehow so natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What was the explanation? Was I finally allowing myself to connect with my own sense of smell rather than just accepting blankly that this was how normal people smelt like? Had I stopped mirroring my own sense of smell in the sense of smell that was simplest to have so I could seamlessly integrate with my surrounding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My answer was yes. Yes, I had started to smell what I really smelt rather than smelling what I assumed society expected me to smell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I breathed deeply in through the nose and devoured the smell of the sea. Yummy. This was a smell I liked. It felt liberating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group book-ad has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#000000;background-color:#65aab1\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:33% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=683%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Among Other Things \u2014 Book cover Ana Pi\u00f1eyro\" class=\"wp-image-2143 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=1024%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=1365%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1365w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=900%2C1350&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=500%2C750&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Among Other Things<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This piece of flash fiction appeared in the flash fiction collection Among Other Things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you enjoyed the story, we encourage you to support the publication by buying a copy of the book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Among Other Things<\/em> is available as paperbacks from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Among-Other-Things-B%C3%B6rkur-Sigurbj%C3%B6rnsson\/dp\/993594669X\/\">Amazon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/among-other-things-b-rkur-sigurbj-rnsson\/1146128813\">Barnes and Noble<\/a> and e-books from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Among-Other-Things-B%C3%B6rkur-Sigurbj%C3%B6rnsson-ebook\/dp\/B0DC4VDQZC\/\">Kindle Store<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/among-other-things\/id6636554661\">Apple Books<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/among-other-things-1\">Kobo<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.storytel.com\/in\/books\/among-other-things-9136592\">Storytel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also support the author through <a href=\"https:\/\/patreon.com\/UrbanVolcano\">Patreon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/borkur\">Buy Me a Coffee<\/a> or by rating the book on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/217146264-among-other-things\"> Goodreads<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-499968f5 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/among-other-things\/\" style=\"border-radius:50px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#000000\">book details<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flash fiction by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson. The smell of perfume leads to intriguing discoveries for a storyteller who is questioning their senses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28],"tags":[76,35],"class_list":["post-1981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-fiction","tag-anxiety","tag-nature","col-md-6 col-sm-6"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/smell.png?fit=1025%2C1025&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1981"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2181,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981\/revisions\/2181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}