Coat Closet [smell challenge]

by Mistress Elsha Hawk

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I remember the pungent odor of the coat closet in the first house I ever lived in. (I was four when I left.)

It was strong, like leather. It clung to everything for years! I remember when I was about 9 my mother pulling out a most hideous decoration, a mobile with gold tassels, inverted, so they looked like fireworks, and “the smell” hung on it. It would shock me into memory. Pictures would flit through my brain of my bedroom with the white linoleum, the yellow (!) carpet in the living room, the fireplace.

The smell wasn’t really leather, though. It had a foul undertone. Like an aftertaste, it wasn’t as sharp as the initial odorous offense. It reminded me of sweaty socks. Not pleasant.

Apparently, no matter what my mother tried the only way to stop the smell was to close the door. No air freshener could ever cover that up, it only added to the offensiveness.

And it didn’t stop at leather and sweaty sock. It contained a hint of mothball. It was a well aged smell, like a fine wine. Fermented. Obnoxious.

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. Coat Closet [smell challenge]

    Tad Winslow's Buddy Icon Tad Winslow

    Posted 9 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I wish I knew of a smell that would let me remember what my really really young years were like, even if it’s a concoction of sweaty socks moth balls and leather. cool story. That smell sounds terrible tho.

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