Thursday 8 November 2012

Staccato anthology of dreams.




*
As soon as I enter I become aware of the dog smell that fills the house. A hot concentrated odour that's different. Warm, sweaty, meaty, vinegary all at once. I wrinkle my nose not sure if I like it but unable to dislike it either because it smells so natural.
*
Hers is a strange face- at once young and old, firm and withered. Wrinkles fan out from her nose to the edges of her lipsticked mouth, spread along the sides of her cheeks and down her neck, making the still young cheeks look like islands in a choppy sea. She waits, hand on hip. 'Have you finished staring at me? Or is the menu written on my face?'
*
I like to watch the office crowd go by. Standing by the street, I suck in the air of their worlds- The dry metallic smell of the air conditioning, the salty smell of dried perspiration, coffee, cigarettes and then something I do not recognize. It brushes ever so slightly against the nostrils, so fine and delicate that it is hard to pin down. The people don't notice my quivering nostrils, and even if they do, they don't care.
I long to make myself a part of them. To wrap myself in their arrogance, my feet keeping time with theirs. To me, they seem like gods, and I long to be as invulnerable as they are.
*
I held the glass beneath my nose and pulled the fumes straight up my nostrils. The wine smelt sweet and spicy, like cinnamon and nutmeg, and sour and earthy. There was also a slight hint of chalk that hung back, almost out of sight. The smell filled my nostrils, delicate but well formed like a gazelle.
Then I took a sip.
The wine slid across my tongue like oil, and slipped effortlessly down my throat. Underneath its silky coat I could feel the muscle that held the various elements of it together. The smell gathered force after I had swallowed it, the warm juices that had been hiding beneath my tongue rushing into it., lifting it up and warming it so that the fumes rose to my throat, and once again, climbing up the dark nasal tunnels to my brain. I sad nothing and slowly took another mouthful.




Excepts from Smell.
-Radhika Jha.
(She's brilliant)

8 comments:

Talitha said...

You could have fooled me...I believed from the bottom of my heart that the piece was yours.Its the very tone you adopt while writing!
At least I now know what to do when I'm running low on inspiration...and it is a good piece.
And girl please turn off the check-whether-I'm-human thingy for comments??

Unknown said...

The descriptions are beautifully detailed. And the one about wine? Woaah.

Tangled Tofu said...

I know, right? :D
She's one of my favorite writers, so probably that's why her style rubs off on me.

Annnnnd. Done.
Hassle free posting, henceforth. :D

Tangled Tofu said...

I know! I was equally blown away.
Beautiful.

Talitha said...

T-H-I-S I-S A T-E-S-T T-O C-H-E-C-K W-H-E-T-H-E-R T-O-F-U G-I-R-L H-A-S D-O-N-E I-T,O-O-P-S,W-H-E-T-H-E-R S-H-E H-A-S D-I-S-A-B-L-E-D I-T!

Talitha said...

Yep,you did and other than messing up your comment box,my other goal of the day was to thank you for becoming my first follower...so a huge round of applause and gratitude to Tofu Girl(I do know your real name but I'm thinking you value your anonymity online,tell me if otherwise!) and a gift hamper of virtual Dark Fantasy biscuits...yum yum,enjoy!

Tangled Tofu said...

You're an amazing blogger, T. How could I not follow you? :D
And Dark Fantasy. Mmm. Great way to start the day. :D

It's Toyoja, by the way. My name. ^_^

Talitha said...

Yep...got it from my email!

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