Flowers were always there for me. I recall days spent in nature admiring the flora, never plucking, always pushing my nose up against the stems and inhaling. Eyes closed, it was euphoric. Leaving them was tantamount to torture. They’d be here again, though, the next day. Unless somebody plucked them or a particularly hard wind or frost came through. I missed them when I was home, surrounded with bottled roses and orchids, peonies and carnations. But the ones in nature were different: fragrant, fresh, untouched. Nobody related to me on this.

Opening Floral Sense was the second best day of my life. The first best day of my life was the first time I remember taking my own bouquet of flowers home, purchased with my own money, for myself. The perfume boutique was a labor of love, as most businesses are, but after a few months of advertising, sleepless nights, and communing with the flowers on next steps, the shop became successful. A staple gem in the east of our town, with daily sales and specials galore.

What made Floral Sense different was that I handcrafted each perfume from flowers I had discovered around town. Never picking them, remember. I took their smell home and with memory crafted something similar, strikingly similar, as one critic said, into a little glass vial and water. Each time a customer sprayed my product, they were entering nature again. Nature in the city was hard to find.

This was all before, of course, I lost my sense of smell. The first worst day of my life. The second worst day of my life was when Floral Sense was purchased by what I suspect might be a corporate conglomerate. I woke up on Easter Sunday and rushed to my garden to spend some time with the flowers. I smelled nothing. I inhaled deeply, shrugging, looking frantically around, but there was no smell for me to have. It was a punishment, I believe, for passion. I rang my hands and thought of next steps - and knew that this was the first step of the punishment. The next steps, I had to do myself.

They took me to the emergency room and subsequently the sanatorium, eye sockets, tongue, ears, and fingers all bleeding. I had no senses left to give.

The sun hits my eyes and gently shakes me out of sleep. I groan and welcome the warm sunshine, slowly slipping out of bed. I glance at the clock and mind the time. As always, I wake up before I need to open shop.

After freshening up and dressing I walk downstairs to the front door, switching the closed sign. As I wait for customers to flood in, I quickly take inventory of shelves that house various glass perfumes. I take note of the ones mostly gone and make a mental note to order more.

I’m broken from my thoughts as I hear the door open, followed by a brightful jingle. I turn and smile when I see it’s one of my employees. She smiles back and walks to the counter.

“Slow day?” She looks at me politely as she takes off her jacket. I turn back to the shelves and scan my eyes of their numbers.

“Hmm I wouldn’t say so… The day has just begun.”

The door jingles again but instead of a customer I see a man in a brown suit, moving a rack of boxes.

“New shipment for you Justine.”

I walk towards the delivery man and smile at him politely as I sign the clipboard he hands me.

“As always thank you.”

He nods in appreciation. “Have a nice day.”

He leaves as I see Racheal picking up a box and bringing it to the counter. I help her and open a box. Inside are several carefully packaged boxes of glass perfume bottles. I reach for one, opening the case carefully to reveal a beautiful and delicate piece of white foggy glass. I run my fingers over the surface, feeling the bumps and curves that morph into vines.

Racheal watches over my shoulder. “Wow these must expensive… what’s their profile?” She tilts her head, glancing down at my hands that hold the perfume.

“Don’t know, let’s find out.”

I open the bottle and begin to spray the essence into the air. In the sun light I se the substance trickle down. Racheal puts her head into the light mist and she lights up.

“Oh wow… it’s smells sophisticated. I think it has notes of jasmine and powder.”

I feel a tinge of confusion dwell in me. I didn’t smell anything, even despite the fact that I sprayed the perfume in front of me. I was about to say something to Racheal before a customer came in.

I spent the entire day trying to smell the shop but nothing came to me. Even at lunch my food tasted dull and flavorless. I didn’t worry about it at first but a sense of dread washed over me. What if I couldn’t smell at all? How could I own a perfume shop if I can’t even smell what I’m selling?

I pushed my thoughts away and tried to sleep. Thinking that if I rested my sense would come back to me. Only when I woke up it was still the same. I started really panic. A train of thoughts and questions rammed into my brain as I began to think about what caused or what may solve my problem. Later in the afternoon I scheduled a doctors appointment

About two weeks later I parked my car in the driveway of my local clinic. After a dreadful wait in the main room I was brought in a small and senile room. If I could smell I knew I’d be suffocating in a medicinal stench.

“What seems to be the problem?” My doctor glanced over to me.

I take a loud sigh. My voice is dull and tired.

“I can’t smell.” My doctor looks at me with a look of pity.

Another few hours of waiting. Then tests, then more waiting. There’s nothing more I hate than the health system.

After a long day I’m sent him to wait patiently for the benevolent words of my doctor to tell me what’s wrong. What’s a load of bullshit. I want to know now, I need to know.

I dread going home, I contemplate closing my eyes all the way upstairs to my room. At least then I wouldn’t have to be reminded of everything I held dear. A treasure now out of my reach.

In the time between waiting for my results I start being accustomed to no smell. I try to hide the fact that I can’t smell, though I think people are starting to catch on.

Every time I need to smell something I pretend to sniff before giving it to Racheal and asking for her opinion. I’m glad I trained her well.

The oddest thing I found was that even despite not having a sense of smell, I could work the same. Whenever a customer came buy and I ask what they were looking for, I knew exactly what they needed. It helped that I always profiled each perfume with their notes.

The moment I handed the perfume to them, their faces lit up in small surprise. ‘That’s just what I needed!’

I was equally surprised as them.

I never thought I’d be ok with not smelling. It’s my job after all. But seeing the pleasant faces of people in my shop reminded me what I loved, why I opened up a shop in the first place. It seemed it didn’t matter whether or not I could smell, I did my job damn well.

I only wondered if I’d keep my sentiments when my results come back. Knowing how the system works, I didn’t hold my breath.

A/N: not proof read :,)

Something was off about this day, something she couldn’t quite place. ‘Oh well’ she thought to herself, ‘its probably fine, nothing to worry about right?’ She shook her head and turned to the customer waiting for her. “Hello sir, and welcome to Perfume Perfect, I’m Feia how can I help you?” “Uhhh…I’d like to buy something for my wife, and she said this place was the best so..” “Well glad to hear, here are some of the best perfumes we own, right this way.” The man lazily follows Feia, she could tell he was uncomfortable in this brightly lit and smell overloaded store. “Here we are, pick out anyone you believe your life would love; and if you don’t find anything in the most popular perfumes we can go look elsewhere around the store.” “Hmmm….My wife loves lavender, which one of these is lavender?” “Oh…Well that one is the most common, this one here with the lavender flowers would be the lavender one sir.” Feia picks up the sample perfume and gives it a sniff. Where was the sent. The perfume smelled like nothing. She quickly put it down and picked up a different sample, still nothing. What had happened to all the scent of her lovely perfumes. She had hand made them and new them to be good. Frowning slightly she says “Do you think this is one your wife would love?” “Hmm…Yeah.” “Fabulous, let me take you to the check out station.” This was wrong, why couldn’t she smell her perfumes? How would she make her perfumes if she couldn’t smell them? No matter, she would assign herself to customer service and have one of her best employees make the perfume. She would tell them exactly why they were doing this. She checked out her lazy customer and went over to see Nayo. “Hey Nayo, I want to promote you.” “Me?” “Yes, how do you feel about making the perfume” and in a whisper she adds “I lost my sense of smell…” “No way!” She shouts “You lost your sense of smell!?” Everyone in shop stares.

I woke up early today to head straight to my perfume shop, ScentSational. I got dressed, did my hair and makeup, and headed out. Today, we would have significant customers, and I had to be prepared. When I got to the shop, Darnell, my assistant, was already preparing for the day. “Morning, Darnell!” I said cheerfully. “Oh! Good Miss Mattie!” He said, turning and waving to me with a huge smile. Darnell was only 15, but he was an outstanding, cheerful worker. I was going over to my workstation when suddenly I sneezed. “Bless you!” I heard Darnell yell from the other side of the store. No, no, no, no! I can’t be sick! I have an important customer today! I’m known as the nose of the town because of my good sense of smell! I need my nose. Wait! Maybe I can still smell! I picked up a bottle of perfume from a nearby shelf and held it up to my nose, taking a deep smell… Nothing… I let out a small cry. Darnell must’ve heard it because he came running over. “Miss Mattie! Are you alright?” He said with a worried look on his face. “No…!” I said on the verge of tears, “I can’t smell!” I was sitting on my desk chair with my head in my hands, and then, suddenly, Darnell hugged me tight. “It’s ok, Miss Hattie! I can be your nose till you feel better!” “Really? You would do that?” I asked, looking up at him. “Of course! Anything for you, Miss Hattie! See, look!” He picked up a bottle of perfume and, without reading the label, said, “This is Ash wood and rose petals with a hint of ivory.” He said with a grin on his face. “You’re an amazing teacher, Miss Hattie! I can do it! Not as well as you, but I can try!” I laughed to myself. He’s such a sweet young boy. About an hour later, after the store had opened, I was sitting at my desk, with Darnell by my side, when I heard the bell to the shop ring. “Welcome to ScentSational!” I called, not looking up from my work. “Darnell, could you please go help the customer?” I asked him. “Yep! Be right back, Miss Hattie!” he said, jumping up and running to the front of the store. A few minutes later, I heard the bell chime again, and Darnell was back at my side. “Who was it?” I asked as I added a rose petal to the small bottle in front of me. “It was some old lady wanting perfume for her granddaughter.” He replied, sitting back in the chair next to me. He was silent for about 5 minutes, then suddenly jumped up and started talking loudly. “I think I know how you can get your smell back quickly!” “Quiet down!” I hissed to him. I didn’t want anyone to walk in and hear him screaming about the fact that I couldn’t smell anything. Unfortunately, someone had heard him… “Can you really not smell anything, Matilda?” I heard a deep voice say from behind me. Oh no… “S-Sir!” I stuttered as I stumbled out of my chair and to my feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Darnell’s once excited face, sink into a look of surprise and fear. “Please say that again, Darnell.” The tall, intimidating man said, staring Darnell down. When I looked over at him, I saw that he was shaking and looked like he was about to sink into the floor. “M’Lord, I’m sorry, but my assistant has a job to do, so if we can get to business, that will be great,” I said, distracting the customer from Darnell. This man was our important customer. He’s the Duke of Strailinne. “Duke Ryker, please follow me; I will show you the prepared perfumes.” After the Duke left, buying all the perfumes I showed him, I went back to my desk to where Darnell was sitting and noticed that he was crying. “Darnell, what’s wrong?” I asked, putting my hand gently on his shoulder. “I-I’m sorry!” He said, standing up and hugging me tight. “I almost ruined your business with my big mouth!” “It’s ok, Darnell; you didn’t do anything wrong.” I hugged him back. “Well, it’s time to close up shop for the day. Go home and tell your parents you are doing a good job as my assistant.” I said, stepping back and smiling. “Y-yeah! My, uh, parents!” He said nervously. “Is everything ok?” I asked, suspicious about the way he talked about his parents. “Uh! Yeah! Everything is fine!” He said quickly. “Darnell…” I said, hands on my hips. “If something is wrong, you can always tell me.” “Ok… the truth is…” he said, looking down as if ashamed. “My parents… died a few years ago…” He’s an orphan…? “Why didn’t you tell me sooner,” I asked, a plan brewing in my mind. “I- I-“It looked like he was on the verge of tears again. “Well… there’s nothing else I can do other than to…” “I get it… you have to fire me…” he said, looking at his feet. “Well, no,” I said, a smile coming to my face. “I was gonna say… the only thing I can think of to do is to adopt you.” I watched as his face lit up. He jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly and crying happily. I hugged him back before saying, “Well, we should head home.” “Ok, mom!” He said, smiling brighter than I had ever seen before. We both laughed happily as we went out the front door, heading home as mother and son.

I had been working here for 30 years, but I never expected this to happen. I should probably back up real quick. I own the most successful perfume and cologne shop in the entire city. I have been mentioned in multiple magazines and have awards for my products. So when you wake up one day and suddenly can’t smell, that’s an issue. I thought I might up just been dealing with a cold, but I couldn’t smell even the strongest smells. This was bad. And u was going to have to deal with this quickly.

Another day, another shift at Poppy’s Perfumes.

As usual, I’m working in the back, checking through storage while Poppy deals with customers. Unlike the proud owner of this shop, I don’t have the people skills to successfully sell anything, but I always wonder what it would be like to walk in during a cold morning to heavenly scents like dahlia petals or warm vanilla. The thought alone brings a smile to my face.

Yesterday, we got another shipment of our signature perfume: Poppy Love. Our mix of poppy flowers, cherries, hints of lilies, and a secret ingredient that makes customers go wild. As soon as they’re in stock, they sell out in a matter of days. When I open the box, the red glass bottles are lined neatly in rows with its ornate, golden accents. I lean down and take in a big sniff, expecting the blissfulness the scent brings me as it wafts towards my nostrils.

But that feeling never comes. In fact, I can’t smell the scent at all.

I lean further into the box and sniff again, but nothing comes to me. Not even the hints of lilies.

I take a perfume bottle out of the box and hold it closer to my face. The glass is icy cold against my fingertips from the months in transit, from the months in the bitter winter. Bringing it directly to my nose, I attempt to take a third sniff, but the bottle slips from my hands and falls onto the concrete floor with a smash.

“Shit!”

Glass shards scatter around me. The scented liquid forms a large puddle at my feet.

Poppy is going to kill me.

With my gloved hands, I quickly scoop up the pieces and throw them in the garbage. On top of them, I shove a paper plate further into the trash can.

Now to deal with the puddle.

There are no paper towels I can use to get rid of the evidence. The nearest roll is in the bathroom, but to get there I have to go to the front, where Poppy will most likely ask questions.

As I try and solve this predicament, my vision begins to blur in front of me. My head begins to throb, slowly increasing in intensity. It was as if my skull was decreasing in size, becoming too small for my brain to contain. I try to trudge to the nearest chair, but my legs collapse under me, leaving me floor ridden.

“Somebody…help…” I groan. Fatigue prevents me from expressing my cries in a louder volume. My eyelids become heavy, slowly closing over my eyes.

Before I can contemplate what was causing this, I got a glimpse of the ingredients list that was attached to the back of every perfume bottle. It listed the chemicals, the scents, and one ingredient that made my heart skip a beat before I fell into unconsciousness:

Chloroform

“I CANT SMELL!” She roars as she stumbles around her room. Looking for her phone in pitch dark. “Lordy, Bel! Shut up!” Her sister, Macy, walks in, light pouring over the scene. She darts over toward her now visible phone, scrolling through Google to see what was wrong. “What is it?” Macy asks, looking right over her shoulder to see. “I can’t smell,” She retorts, a bit angry now. It smelled like..nothing, and that was very irritating. “Well..do you know why?” Macy inquires, shrugging as Bel gives a sour scowl. “Just trying to help..” Macy mumbles. “Do you think I would be up at three in the morning if I didn’t know why?!” She exclaims, tossing her phone hard onto the flat surface of her bed. Macy sits on the crinkled sheets, pulling her phone out to investigate. “It says here it could be caused by stress,” She pauses for a few seconds, “Are you stressed about something?” “Of course I am! I’m human. If I wasn’t stressed then I wouldn’t be human!” Bel exclaims, huffing as she thuds dull-y onto her back. “Well..that’s true, but..what’s going on at school? Anything big? Anything..I don’t know..” Macy shrugs, patting Bel on the upper-thigh momentarily as for some comfort. “I guess there is something..” Bel sits up, guilty looking. Shrugging as Macy looks at her with curiosity. “Well? Out with it!” Macy practically demands after Bel paused for almost a minute.

   [The End..I’ll leave y’all with curiosity]
                               -Knife

She had it all. Pamela had worked all her life for this, and her dream finally came true. She now had a successful perfume shop. It was another typical day at work. When it was time to finally come home, Pamela closed the shop, got in her car, and drove home. When she got near her home, she saw a man wearing a large coat and hat. “I wonder what he’s doing there …” she thought. Pamela went inside her house. She had dinner, and more work waiting for her. Pamela couldn’t wait. She had been working on a new scent, and it was finally almost ready. After working, she smelled it one last time, went to bed, and smiled knowing that the people would love it. The next morning, she woke up, feeling great. She made her coffee and breakfast and started eating. Pamela took a sip of her coffee. Then she started trying to smell it. “Why can’t I smell it?” She thought. Pamela went to her home workplace to smell the perfume. She couldn’t smell it. Pamela panicked. “But the product was supposed to be released today! How did this happen?” She got ready for work anyway, and left. Everyone looked really happy inside the shop. As the day went by, the lines for the new perfume got longer. Pamela felt bad. Then she remembered the man in the coat. “Maybe he knows something …” Pamela went to search for him. She saw him near her house again. He started walking away, but Pamela was too fast. “Hi … are you the same man that was here last night ?” The man smiled in a wicked way. “Yes.” He said. “Why can’t I smell anything?” She asked him. “I put something in your perfume last night. I got inside your house.” He told her. “What did you put?” Pamela asked him. “A potion to block someone’s sense of smell.” He told her. “What can I do to smell again?” She asked him. “Another potion. I won’t tell you where it is.” He said, and started walking away. Pamela tried to stop him. “Where is this potion?” She asked. He didn’t answer. Pamela came up with a plan. She would follow him in secret. She followed him, and was now near his house. He was only inside for a bit, and left again. She saw that he had dropped his keys. “He will probably be back soon. I have to hurry.” She used the keys, went inside, and searched for the antidote.
She checked the kitchen. There was a switch in the microwave. It opened and she saw a mini vault. “This must be where the potion is!” She thought. “How do I figure out the password?” She wondered. “How can I smell again? How does smell work?” She thought. Then an idea came to her. “The password is “molecule!” The vault opened and she drank the potion. She was able to smell again.

Warm winds blew the early morning chill away leaving an unexpected bright afternoon. Maria’s doctor appointment was cancelled so she walked coat open with nowhere to go in a neighborhood she didn’t know. Fancy boutiques and bistros, Maria window-shopped taking in the new and the different. A sudden sweetness caught her fancy.

Maria followed her nose. Past a cupcake bakery and a tailor shop, Maria followed the smell of buttercream frosting and roses after a light rain. Her nose led her to the door of Dulce, Bespoke Perfumes.

A bell tinkled as Maria nudged open the shop door. She was never a girly girl into makeup and things. She thought the shop would be overpowering. Instead Dulce was peaceful. Heartwood floors and white washed brick walls, the perfume shop was bare except for a crystal cut glass vase filled with coffee beans and a lady wearing a purple cardigan watering a pothos.

“I’ll be right with you, dear heart. I’m trying not to kill this thing but it’s all floppy,” the lady with the watering can said.

“Oh I’m sorry. I thought this was a shop,” Maria stammered.

Her face flushed as she turned to leave. The woman continued watering.

“My name is Olive. I’m a nose.”

“What?” Maria asked.

Olive climbed down from her stepladder.

“Well a blind nose now. For years I studied to be a perfumer, honing my olfactory, learning to layer scents becoming an artisan. Then I had an car accident.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Maria said feeling more confused with each word from the shopkeeper.

“I lost my sense of traditional smell but now I taste and hear and feel scents,” Olive said. “You look like a person with a found afternoon. Let’s have an adventure. Samples are free.”

Maria thought wondering if she should leave or stay. She could smell sun-ripen tomato, the pine bite of rosemary and something she couldn’t quite describe. She closed her eyes and inhaled.

Every day I go through the same routine. Wake up at 5 am, go to the gym and run, and shower when I get back home. Then I make the same breakfast, an egg sandwich with an apple and grapes. I eat on my way to the perfume shop. Once I'm inside I do my usual cleaning tasks getting the store ready for business as usual. I have been going at it for 25 years now, not a day goes by that's any different, until today. Today I noticed I couldn't smell the garlic salt I put on my egg sandwich but I didn't think anything of it. So I went about business as usual, until I started my process of making a new perfume. I couldn't smell anything, so I did the only thing I could think of and added more of the solution. However I still couldn't smell anything! So without thinking I call my best friend/business partner and when she gets there I fall into her arms. Then after my meltdown we sit down and come up with a game plan. She had always been better at the business side of things while I was better at making the scents. The irony of a perfume shop owner not being able to smell! Our new plan is to simply switch roles. We trained each other on the positions and worked together to grow. Luckily we rocked it and the business skyrocketed!