One for the Smelly Stories

Some of you know I have been working on writing a collection of short stories yet to be titled which I refer to as my "smelly stories", because even though each story stands alone and they are all very different in topic and tone, the theme that binds them together is scent. In one way or another smells are central pieces of every one of these tales. When I went to Cairo I hoped I might pick up some ideas for a few new stories to add to the pot. Boy did I!

There are over 100 perfume shops in Cairo. This is one of the ones we visited. If I'd had more money I would have loved to have brought home a bottle of lotus and one of papayrus perfumes, along with a collection of the beautiful hand blown bottles they had on display for giving as gifts for family and friends. Alas...it did not happen. By the time we got here we had already committed our cash for other things, and I didn't want to risk fragile bottles in my suitcases. But ah, the smell of that place! It was delicious.