It Smells Like Someone Died

If you’re sensitive to the topic of death, this may not be the note for you. Give it a skip and I’ll see you next week.

We think someone may have died in our apartment complex.

On our floor.

In our hallway.

There have been… smells. They started last week. Not so bad at first. It smelled a little like garbage, but I never thought anything of it. We have a valet trash service and employees walk through the hallways collecting trash all the time.

Our building is enclosed, and it’s not terribly uncommon for smells to linger.

A week or so went by, and the smell faded. I nearly forgot about it.

Until yesterday… I ran into every member of our office staff in the hallway.

“Does it smell in here?” The property manager asked me.

“It does!” I said. “Like Brussel sprout garbage… but it’s not as bad as it was.”

He stared back at me blankly. Maybe Id become nose blind to it. Gross.

“Can you tell where it’s coming from?” He asked.

“It gets worse when you walk that way,” I said, pointing in the direction of my own unit.

“We’ll send out a message to the residents on this floor and make sure it gets taken care of,” another office staff member said.

Okay, I shrugged, and then merrily made my way.

Later, we received texts about the smell and were asked to dispose of any garbage that may be contributing to the issue. And that was that.

Then… (dramatic pause)

The smell came back — even stronger than before. Rotting fish is the only thing I can think to compare it to.

It was so bad, I had to hold my breath in the hallway, and run toward the exit.

AND… (dramatic pause)

Before the smell came back in full force, there were cops in our hallway. Hanging around. For like 4 hours.

Someone in our community Facebook group said they saw a medical examiner vehicle pull up.

We suspect that the body was wheeled out and passed by our apartment, which is right near the exit to the parking garage. This would explain why it all of a sudden got worse.

Now there are glade plug-ins conveniently placed in every outlet throughout the hallway of the second floor. But no one has said anything official.

Hope this wasn’t too morbid for your “weekly dose of inspiration, creativity, and magic…”

I actually have an idea for another novel that this whole ordeal might be helpful for. So, it was inspirational for me!

xoxo,