I know that I said I was looking forward to 2013 being the year of change. And I know that I said that it would be positive change. So far it's a mixed bag and we aren't even a full two months into the year. ACG is in the hospital. It will be weeks before he is able to talk to anyone. And he will spend months in rehabilitation. I do not know what his family is going to do with him. He was already talking about having to move. But I think that packing him up while he is incapacitated, while it would expedite things, would wound his soul. I don't know that would happen. It would be logical. Sad. But logical.
I knew something was wrong in my Universe. I sensed a disturbance as that of one voice calling out in the darkness in great despair. It was last Thursday. I finished my morning shift, got home before the cold settled in and started peeling my garments off. As I was unwinding my almost Dr. Who length scarf I caught a whiff of something strongly pungent, spicy and masculine. At first I thought that I was smelling Sir Knight. But his scent has a strong tobacco under note and this did not. I took of the jacket and hung it up. The scent seemed stronger. Sniffing my hands like a bloodhound from tip to wrist, front to back, I started smelling the scarf and jacket.
No scent on the clothes. And I had just washed my hands for the 5th time before leaving work. They had been in bleach, oxy clean, laundry soap and hand sanitizer for the last 15 minutes of my shift. They should not smell like men's cologne. I peeled my boots off and began sniffing my uniform. Did I get anything on me that I wasn't aware of? Nope. Lavender and laundry soap. Where the hell is the smell coming from? The more agitated I became the strong the scent. THAT should not have happened. I couldn't figure it out. I showered. The smell was still there. I dressed for bed and watched TV for 3 hours. I texted ACG to tell him about the weirdness. But the earlier text in which I asked "Are you still here?" had still gone unanswered. I fell asleep wondering which dead relative was trying to get a hold of me.
Yes I did. In the world of paranormal exploration these scents are not uncommon. Many investigators walk into empty rooms and catch a scent of roses, freshly lit cigars, old perfume with no explanation as to how that smell is there. One might say, well its still in the drapes or the chairs. Which would be a great explanation... if there was furniture in the room. And I myself will catch a scent of my Gramma, it is a particular parfum that is no longer made. It is lilac and jasmine with a spicy note of something else. It came in a tube like chap stick and had a base and cap that made it look a bit like Jeannie's bottle. No one makes it anymore. Haven't since before Gramma died. And since I am not the only one who has smelled it I know it is not an olfactory hallucination. Common belief among paranormal enthusiasts is that is when they are letting you know that they have your back. You might not know why. But they are there for you. Or they just popped in for a nip.
I am not all in on the minutia of paranormal claims. There are a lot of things they subscribe to that I can not get behind. But I do not have any other explanation for the things that happen. So I thought well, ok. Who smells like that? I couldn't think of a relative. The only one that was close was Sir Knight. But he is just fine by all accounts.
The following day I received a facebook status update that ACG is in the hospital. He had emergency surgery the evening that I smelled that scent. That scent didn't go away until after I had fallen asleep. It was very odd. And odder still that what had happened in Chicago was a medical crisis that induced coma and he has been in a medicated state since coming out of surgery.
According to the paranormal experts, the spirit wanders when the body is in a coma. He could have come to answer the text in person. He could have had nothing to do with the smell. I don't know. It is a strange set of events. I hope that it was not to tell me to get used to the idea of him being gone.
For the last 4 or 5 years we have talked several times a week. We've been angry on each others behalf. We have cheered the other along. I didn't expect to find him when I did nor that he would be a better brother in spirit than the one I have in the flesh. I am not sue that this is a change that I can embrace even if I have to accept it.
In other news: I have my key to the gym. It is a marvel of modern technology. And some of the equipment there promises to be very much the holodeck prototype I have been looking for. More on that as events unfold. The gym isn't up and running just yet. But it won't be long now.
