The elderly woman in apartment 32 is a chain smoker and her cigarette incense often wafts into my entry way and bathroom. Honestly, it's pretty disgusting and there is nothing I can do about it, but I have grown accustomed to the smell of stale smoke lingering in the air.
Most nights I get back to my block of flats around 9 or 9:30 at night. It is just late enough that my neighbors have all finished their dinners, but still early enough for the scent of their meals to hang in the stairway as I walk up 4 flights of stairs to my flat.
At least twice a week, for the few seconds I stand at my front door to unlock it, I get a whiff of the meal that the elderly woman in apartment 32 made. It smells eerily similar to Mexican food. More specifically, Mexcian food from my favourite Mexican food restaurant Señor Rics. Now I know this may sound crazy or even gross, but combine this scent with cigarette smoke, and I think of my dear Grandmother Billie. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her, but when I did, it was usually at Señor Rics and she was usually smoking.
At least twice a week, for the few seconds I stand at my front door to unlock it, I get a whiff of the meal that the elderly woman in apartment 32 made. It smells eerily similar to Mexican food. More specifically, Mexcian food from my favourite Mexican food restaurant Señor Rics. Now I know this may sound crazy or even gross, but combine this scent with cigarette smoke, and I think of my dear Grandmother Billie. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her, but when I did, it was usually at Señor Rics and she was usually smoking.
So thank you elderly woman in apartment 32, for bringing back the handful of warm memories of my Grandmother Billie and her laughter. Oh, and making me miss Mexican food even more than I already did.
