Caramelos
When she opened her eyes, the big mirrored wall across from her offered a wide view of the place.
It was a vintage-looking apartment, and she was sitting on an off-white sectional couch, covered with washed-out pillows of a faint peach color. There was a rundown, rectangular glass dining table to her left, with dusty matching chairs and silver legs that shimmered in the dimly lit room. Behind her, to her right, the mirror revealed what she recognized to be the apartment’s entrance door. Another door faced this one, which she knew led to the balcony. She concluded that this must be where she lived, even though she had no recollection of having been there before.
A car honked loudly outside, followed by a discordant concert of speeding motors, bicycle bells, and overlapping voices. Distant thunder joined in the background. She got up and rushed to the balcony.
The smell of car exhaust fumes welcomed her as she stepped onto the balcony. She inhaled deeply and filled her lungs with the scent.
“Hi there!”
Said a man in his fifties while smiling at her from the next-door balcony, his rough hands dangling over the railing. He had tanned skin and slightly sad eyes, and she noticed a vaguely familiar wave filling her chest as he smiled. She decided she was going to pretend to know him, even though she had no recollection of seeing him before.
“Hey! How are you?”
She replied.
“Not bad. Thought I’d step outside for a bit before it rains. How are you today?”
“I’m great, thanks for asking”
She looked down while she talked, the way she did sometimes when doing something deceitful.
“How are things with the water pressure? Did it get better?”
He asked while scratching the palm of his left hand.
“Ah, yes! It’s better…”
She forced herself to look up so he wouldn’t notice her embarrassment at not knowing what he was talking about.
She was certain now; she lived in this apartment, and surely he was the landlord. She wondered how she could afford it. It wasn’t a modern, well-maintained apartment, but it was big, and in this part of the city… what part of the city was she in? What country?
A cool gush of wind carrying the smell of ozone enveloped her, and she inhaled deeply again, for this was a scent she had cherished ever since she was a child.
She could not hold her curiosity, and while looking down again she asked:
“What do I pay you for rent?”
Thin, cool droplets of rain landed on her face as she heard him answer:
“Oh silly, remember, all I need is caramelos”
She opened her eyes again.
