Fragments of Fragrance

By V Kabilan

The air feels like rum and rubber, as you walk along a path that seems to constantly waver like a pond of water left muddied and you came across it ... yes, an abandoned building vacant of life and you realize you have to make do with what you stumbled over.

You go through the building feeling its rough edges to find a place to settle yourself. Lucky you, a theater waits, for that one spectator, to simply witness... what it has to offer. 

The movie rolls... for better or worse 

A person seemingly perfectionist walks in the dead of the night, only to run into a thug and have his valuables confiscated. After a tussle, the guy ends up being stabbed and he just stares at the murderer for such a long time without breaking a sweat, from initially an accusatory look to a calmness with a touch of irritability like an inconvenience happening was just him feeling the pain rather than dying a painless death. 

The murderer sees him with an expectant look to see the fear and pleading in his eyes, frustrated that he chose the wrong one, he goes on his way while the other guy lay immobile in that endless pitter patter.

Another man comes into sight and sees him and checks for any surveillance or if anybody is nearby, having no audience to give a performance for, his motivations to assist in whatsoever manner get deflated manner and he continues his jog like he didn't witness a person butchered a sense of carelessness with a touch of irritability having seen something so ominous. And as the night goes on, he thinks to himself " Dammit, is this how I'm going to die?", even in his close encounter with death, he was brooding in the most aimless thoughts, " Which is worse? The indulgent nature of humans or the total apathy that carelessly throws all to the wind?" 

Oh and yes he did die, thinking if he could smell the scent of his blood or if the rain dampened it. 

The scent of wet soil fills the air regardless.

( The scene fizzles and fades into darkness)

The guy gets transported into a parallel world where the limbs of people are replaced with candy and he gets transported into a store and unable to believe at the sight he saw, assuming that was a cosplay, goes out only to stumble upon a crowd where the people are protesting against eating chocolate as it is a "cannibalism" in a sense and should be banned, in his hunger he goes mad and devours all limbs he can see within his reach, warranting arrest and faints into a coma due to candy overdose and eventually dies of it even before he reaches his prison cell. The wardens having seen a lot of cases like this aren't surprised and go on with their interactions. 

" Hey *** before you take that guy to the morgue search his pockets to check if he's got any candy on him , y'know with the toffee prices going up like crazy because of these bastards protesting for their limb rights nonsense. You better take what you can lad, and be generous a little 'kay? "

And he's just another body dissected in that room where the air smelt like candied joy turned rancid, leaving a toxic taste to the tongue.

(the scene goes all wobbly like waves rippling until they engulfed its entirety as they slowly morph into darkness) 

The world I live in, glitches at random times, so much so that it seems to form a pattern, like the red line that seems to divide the computer when it's turned on or that ink specks on your identity documents.

And every single time it glitches figures appear in varying postures and attires, sometimes there's some addition to the members. Feels like a mini-squid game to say the least where any reaction spelt death.

I cross that lawn, see that tabby cat straight in the eye, staring into its soul , so much that it flinches and leaps in one swift motion into the backyard and I see it through till the end of its tail goes out of my sight.

I resume my journey to that cafe where I work partime, greeting those customers with figures perched atop their heads seemingly comical and bizarre in this mundane life of mine, if you see it for days that is. After the shift ends, I go to the restroom, lock the stall and sit on the toilet with that look that screams "all I have going for me is relentless ruin". 

I take that piece of paper out of my floral bag, the very reason my mood is crappy probably, except its not a pregnancy test. Just a diagnosis...about what you ask? 

What do you think ? 

( the woman glitches out of existence, as all her stuff lay there scattered, the washroom in disarray )

The next instant I'm drinking coffee like my soul needs it, it's absolutely delicious but leaves a bitter aftertaste, just like my life.

The smell of caffeine is like a heady comfort in that wooden cafe. Suffocatingly sweet.

( the frame sparks with current and dies out abruptly like candlelight snuffed out) 

Everything goes black... and blank. 

I see myself in a cheerful aquatic show, surrounded by incessant chatter and the booming voice of the speakers, requesting everyone to maintain silence as the show commences ,and the trainer in her jumpsuit with the dolphin stands not so far away. And suddenly time stops as the surroundings go greyscale, with it coming an eerie peace that comes before the storm. 

The earth shakes violently in the very place I'm standing, and the horizon lit up as arrows of fire raced toward distant targets, few of them slamming onto the vast oceanarium , as images of the lively past and the bloodied future flicker like frames of a film strips changing in nano seconds and when I see the pool, the dolphin that jumped into the water seconds earlier never returns, and I shut my eyes. 

I feel my reality breaking into shards of porcelain that lay on my nightstand ,into a thousand pieces, sharp and shoddy , loosened by tension and truth. 

[the curtains close and the lights dim with '7 weeks and 3 days' (liminal version) playing on repeat, ever the dreamland of apathy.]

what happened to her you ask? Let's just she reeks of death and daffodils. 

By V Kabilan