Smells

 Or aromas fragrances even odors

Each can take us to a memory or place- I think I have mentioned before that the movie the exorcist is brought to mind whenever I smell the original perfume Charlie 

Delivered flowers always take me back to my hospital volunteer job as a candy striper when I was 12 or 13

I wonder if particles stay in our body or brain- not just a memory but as a physical presence 

And how maddening is it when we smell something that stops us in our tracks but we can’t place it- 

It was so odd when I had Covid- I could taste all my food but realized when I went to sniff at my body wash- I had no sense of smell for it

Smell is something we don’t usually think about until it disappears for a time

Right now I’m not urged by a fragrance but mentally I’m remembering my mother’s clothes detergent 

Our sense of smell is just as much a memory as it is an actual thing