Palettes

On my way to the mailbox i came across a lady i've run into and said hi to. I remember her. Her smile was sincere. Sincerity can seem rare in life. She was walking her bike back to her apartment again. She'd greet her dog even before closing the door behind her with "How's my baby?" So cute.

Today i naturally took the initiative to greet her. Once again she was warm. Then she asked innocently, "Do you live around here?"

Which i found odd. I was in the building. Again. I couldn't just be passing through.

I informed her i lived just down the hall.

She lowered her voice, "Do you smell something weird sometimes?"

Well, i have walked down the hallway and been convinced someone hasn't bathed in days... So, affirmative.

"That's why i am moving," she said next.

"What does it smell like?" I inquired.

"Battery acid," she replied. "I swear it's poisoning me. It's coming out of my pores!"

Then she offered me her wrist to sniff.

The moment was weird on so many levels!

I hesitated for a millisecond. Then i thought, "Eh! It's only poison!"

Plus if it had been traveling through the vents like she suggested, I would've been exposed already.

I didn't detect any odor.

"My nose is not entirely functioning," I explained. "Due to allergies."

Later i pondered how classically comical it would've been had i, upon taking a whiff, dropped dead right then and there.