SCENTS AND SMELLS- A SHORT STORY

Kiara made her way to the Jaipur railway station, loaded with two suitcases, couple of backpacks and handbags 🛍🧳💼(of which her grandma’s photo was popping out🖼), another bag full of ‘maa ke haato ka khana’ and a leash in her hand. She was shifting to Delhi for her new job (with her dog, yes🐶).

Not sure if her new job would work out, she decided to rent a 1BHK flat right near her office, which was a real deal finding!
Kiara was an early bird, she would usually be up by 4AM, chant, exercise her way into the day.🧘🏻‍♀️
Even besides having a full day job, she loved cooking for herself, so she would eventually pass out latest by 10 following a packed day.

Kiara’s dog, Cuddle, was basically in life compassion and in travelling a companion- a partner in crime. It was impossible for both to live without each other.❤️
The only thing, their routines didn’t match!

Cuddle loved to be up till the breaking of dawn and that is when Kiara was usually trying to sleep. The problem was not cuddle being awake all night, it was him being a mess, moving around in the dark, breaking stuff, resting at random, unwanted spots or just jumping on Kiara’s  bed.

But that was not all to disrupt Kiara after her long day, it was also the fire alarm of the building that would detect random smoke and go off, forcing people to give up their sleep in the middle of the night for practically nothing, only to discover that it was a false alarm.🚫
The alarm alerted the entire building 7 times in the past, but always to return back safely.

Today, Kiara was announced as the project head on a new engagement and she was super dooper excited. She had to start just the very next day. This night, it was particularly hard for her to sleep, this new announcement was giving her the collywobbles🥺. Even Cuddle could sense the excitement and expressed it in his own ways.

It was already an hour past midnight, still unable to sleep, Kiara got up from the bed, due to a strong familiar smell. It absolutely alerted her brain. Trying to ignore that she made her way to the kitchen to make some chai. Cuddle got excited too. As the tea was boiling, the alarm went off again. It was loud as always, scaring Kiara more because of her lack of sleep.  She ignored it and focussed on bringing together her chai.

Suddenly, someone was banging the main door– it was a real alarm this time.🔥🧯 Immediately turning off the stove, she picked up cuddle, her phone, cards and the file for her new engagement and rushed to evacuate the building.🐶📱💳📂

The fire brigade was already there, at its work. On discovering, she got to know that someone on the 11th floor had left their geyser on for more than a day and it sparked in the middle of the night. Luckily, no casualties, or major loss.
Kiara just wanted to go ahead and check on the lady!
To her greatest surprise she discovered it was aunt Meena. She was the lady on the 11th floor, her grandma’s bestest friend, and the carrier of the strong scent, that was not letting her sleep.

Kiara’s grandmother passed away in her late 60s, she was a woman with a big heart, self-reliant, the warmest person- a free bird. She always made handmade Rose Attars with the recipe of her Grandmother and regularly gifted them to her friends and ofcourse to Aunt Meena too.
Till date, Aunt Meena applies it at the pulse points of the wrists and her neck, just as grandma liked it –that is how strong their friendship still is.

It was truly an incredibly emotional day for Kiara on all fronts.

Aunt Meena was absolutely elated to find that Kiara was living in the same building and invited her over.
What a small world!❤️