Heaven Scent

HEAVEN SCENT

‘Hey Alexi! See you at the Cricket Club after work?’
‘Not tonight Mike.’
‘Seeing someone?’
‘Could be, just could be. Tell you later.’
‘That’s cool.’
‘Gotta go! Gotta get away from this filthy burning smell.’
‘Smell? Do you mean the traffic?’
‘No, not that, more like wood smoke or sulphur. It doesn’t matter, it’s starting to fade away.’

Alexi was feeling really pleased, having finally secured a night out with Claire, the same Claire who only a few weeks earlier had refused a lunchtime drink with him. His efforts to improve their relationship could now turn into something more meaningful. The burning smell lingered on, and so glaring at the most obvious culprit; a nearby café, he set out towards the city centre.

The burning faded to be replaced by a waft of perfume, a perfume that resembled roses, lilies, the delicate aroma of wild flowers; it was difficult for Alexi to determine. The identification of such things had never been high on his agenda. On the opposite pavement Claire, or someone closely resembling Claire, weaved around the other pedestrians and disappeared down an alleyway. Alexi crossed through the busy traffic, and just avoided being hit by a delivery van, that he was certain had been driven directly at him. The driver then turned to glare in the direction of this agile pedestrian, but Alexi was too busy to wait; overtaking Claire was his only priority. The van driver cursed, and the pupils of his dark piercing eyes contracted until they became points. The alleyway was empty, but undeterred Alexi ran as fast as a champion sprinter and reached the end in a matter of seconds.

The perfume again! The woman was standing nearby, looking in a dress shop window. To Alexi’s disappointment it wasn’t Claire. She did bear a close resemblance to his forthcoming dinner date; in her mid-twenties with the same shoulder length auburn hair, slim build, even the way she stood, hands on hips and head a little to one side as if sizing up the situation. The woman turned and smiled, and then pushed open the shop door and went inside. Alexi was intrigued, and taking a deep breath checked the knot in his tie, unbuttoned his jacket and with pulse racing strolled over to the doorway. The shop was closed, and had been for several months, the door padlocked and barred.

The evening began badly for Alexi, and soon became a complete disaster. Upon arrival at the restaurant an irritating tickle at the back of his throat developed into a coughing fit. There was an appalling burning smell coming from the kitchen, which no one else seemed to notice. Alexi was certain burnt pans or something equally unpleasant was responsible for his uncontrollable cough. The food was inedible, and yet Claire seemed to relish everything she ate, and the sour tasting wine was overpriced and made him feel sick. He complained to the waiter, the manager, and anyone else who would listen. One of the customers, a tall dark-haired man with rat-like black eyes appeared to enjoy every minute of Alexi’s discomfit. Claire became very embarrassed and instead of going onto a nightclub as planned developed a headache and took a taxi back to her flat… alone.

Alexi wandered around the city centre streets realising he had just ruined any possible future with Claire. An hour later saw him leaning over the guardrail at the end of the pier gazing into the murky and uninviting waters. The sulphurous smell saturated the air. A long black, American limousine drew alongside. The darkened passenger window slid down, and a harsh voice said: ‘You have nothing left to live for, why not end it here? No one will miss you, least of all that woman.’
‘What business is it of yours?’ said Alexi, beginning to feel that everyone in the world was against him.
‘Everything is my business, and you’re in the way. You have to die you know, why not save time and make it NOW?’
For the space of a few seconds Alexi had the urge to hurl himself into the icy water. A giant invisible hand lifted his body into the air, but instead of falling into the harbour Alexi grabbed the top rail. Roses! Spring flowers! The perfume wafted across the water and a red open top sports car roared onto the quay. A woman’s voiced yelled: ‘Jump aboard!’
Without thinking further Alexi ran to the car and dived into the passenger seat. The vehicle charged away, and sped back to the city centre.
‘He won’t stop until this is resolved,’ said the woman, who Alexi now recognised as the Claire look-alike.
‘I think he wants to kill me.’
‘Of course! What else?’
‘I don’t understand!’
‘I’ll explain, though we don’t have long.’
Slamming on the brakes the sports car skidded across the road and bounced through a gap in the fencing. It accelerated once more and churning up the wet grass cut across the park until reaching the clubhouse of the local cricket team.
‘Good God!’ Cried Alexi, glancing back at the furrows. ‘There’ll be hell to pay for that.’
‘I think not,’ said the woman, dragging Alexi up the short flight of steps to the clubhouse entrance. The door was open, and she pulled him through into the darkened interior. A weak orange glow coming from an unseen source was the only illumination, which as it brightened showed only four blank windowless walls and a bare wooden floor.
‘Last time I was in here there was a bar and loads of tables, and…’
‘Quiet!’ said the woman with an authority that made him wince. ‘Time is short. Do you know who I am?’
‘No idea, but thanks for saving me from that obvious lunatic.’
‘I am Ariel,’ said the woman pausing for a few seconds as if expecting a reply, ‘and that lunatic is Loki. Does that help?’
‘No, except…’
‘Yes!’
‘Except that…’
‘Go on!’
‘I know it sounds silly, but the only place I’ve heard those names are in stories.’
‘What stories?’
‘I seem to remember my mum telling me about Loki; some sort of Scandinavian, or Icelandic god, wasn’t he? I was only a little kid, it was a long time ago.’
‘You’re on the right track. Loki is after you, and I just might be able to persuade him to back off.’
‘This is for real, isn’t it? You’re not pointing hidden cameras at me, are you?’
Ariel faded from sight – he was alone. A hand touched his shoulder and spinning around he saw her standing by the far wall. She faded again and this time appeared at arms length. She increased in stature and white-feathered wings spread out from her shoulder blades until they almost filled the room.
‘This is how some people visualise me. Now can we get down to the matter in hand?’
The wings faded, and she returned to being Claire’s twin.
‘Yes,’ said Alexi releasing his breath. ‘Whoever, whatever, you are, I’m convinced.’
‘Good. The problem is that you can identify us. It’s no doubt some hereditary trait as your mother had the same gift.’
‘You know my mum?’
‘I met her before you were born.’
‘But that’s not possible… sorry, go on.’
‘You are one of the very few who can detect us by an aroma.’
‘More of a stink… sorry, I was referring to Loki.’
‘He doesn’t like people knowing where he is, and is apt to terminate them.’
‘Hell! That’s pretty demoralizing, surely there has to be a way to stop him.’
‘I can ask, but I don’t hold out much hope. He did admire your mother, so perhaps I can reason with him.’
Alexi ambled around the empty clubhouse, his mind full of questions, but unable to ask anything that made sense.
‘I don’t know how to say this with proper respect, but are you… a god?’
‘No I’m not, but I and my people have been mistaken for omnipotent beings on many occasions. We now number only a few hundred; we’re not immortal, and these days rarely interact with the human race. There was a time when we tried to help, or hinder human development, but those days are long gone. Loki tends to live in the past, is completely incorrigible, and still causes no end of trouble. I follow him around, and try to tidy up the mess he invariably leaves.’
‘Like killing people?’
‘That rarely happens these days.’
‘Nice to know, but how come I’ve never noticed you before?’
‘We haven’t been at this location for decades, and I doubt if we will stay long, we never do.’
‘Then why bother with me and my unusual talent?’
‘I’ve told you, Loki is incorrigible, he likes to cause humans pain and discomfit.’
‘Killing someone is a pretty drastic discomfit.’

Sulphur! Burnt wood! Cinders! The stink returned and permeated the clubhouse.
‘Ariel, my sweet one, why did you help the mortal? You know how I despise the snivelling creatures.’
A tall pale-faced dark-haired man wearing a long black cloak appeared next to Ariel. To Alexi’s mind he resembled a rather poor imitation of a vampire that features in a cheaply made horror movie, and could not be considered frightening by any stretch of Alexi’s imagination.
‘Hey Loki!’ said Alexi. ‘Be cool, I’m sure we can come to some agreement,’ then clenching both fists decided to call his bluff. ‘You don’t scare me. I saw you driving that van, and it was you in the restaurant too.’
‘Quiet mortal, I am Loki, no human being can stand up to me.’
‘Loki, dear one,’ said Ariel, beaming a smile that visibly brightened the surroundings. ‘This mortal not only has the gift of recognition, but,’ she paused as if savouring the moment.
‘Yes! But?’ said Loki impatiently.
‘Do you remember someone in this city you loved more than two decades ago?’
Loki’s eyes seemed to focus on somewhere distant and he whispered: ‘Yes, I remember her, the sweetest human woman that ever existed.’
‘This is Lucia’s son!’
Loki appeared to shrink in stature, and continued to talk in low almost inaudible tones.
‘Lucia’s child, can it be possible?’
‘Who knows dear Loki, it may have happened.’
‘Yes! Yes, it could have, couldn’t it?’
‘Stranger things occur.’
Loki turned to Alexi, this time with a smile instead of hate-filled eyes. ‘Your mother, is she well?’
‘She’s fine, and has never looked better.’
‘I would dearly love to see her again.’
‘No Loki!’ said Ariel, tugging at his cloak. ‘It is unwise, it can only upset you both. Remember her, as you knew her. Lucia has never forgotten you, of that you can be certain.’
‘I loved her more than anyone.’
‘Mum never mentioned you, except maybe in children’s stories.’
‘What would she have told you, that she once loved and was loved by an eternal being? Would you have believed her?’
Alexi shook his head and then realised he could see right through the black cloak to the far wall. The air shimmered, and Loki faded from sight.
‘He will not return,’ said Ariel. ‘I apologise for any trauma you have suffered. Loki will make one further call tonight, and they stay out of your life forever.’
‘My mother, will she be okay?’
‘She will be fine, never better, as you said.’
‘That’s cool. One thing though, what did Loki mean about Lucia’s child?’
‘He thinks you may be his son, but I can assure you that however much we look like humans we are an entirely different species and cannot interbreed. Poor Loki, he never understood about genetics, or anything scientific.’
‘Do you… well what I’m thinking is, do you really like him, I mean… you know?’
‘You have your mother’s intuition. The answer is I truly love him and literally follow him to the ends of the Earth. Now, I too must go. Look into my eyes, and tell me what you see?’
‘I see,’ said Alexi, beginning to sway as if upon a ship rolling against heavy seas, ‘dark pools of water, and…’

Alexi grabbed the guardrail with both hands and stopped swaying. He was back on the quayside once more. A faint smell of roses swept over him and turning he saw a woman standing in the shadows.
‘Ariel?’
‘Claire! It’s me Claire.’
‘Claire, I don’t know what to say, I’m really sorry.’
‘It’s me who should be apologising, I shouldn’t have walked out on you.’
‘But it was my fault, all that arguing, the smells, food.’
‘You were quite right, the food was disgusting, and I’d expect better service in a burger bar.’
‘Was it that bad? Yes, I suppose it was.’
‘When I got back to the flat my roommate had taken in the roses you sent earlier today. That was very sweet of you, and the perfume, that is something else.’ Claire drew a shiny flask from her handbag. ‘It looks like real gold. There isn’t a label on it, only the word Ariel engraved on the base. That’s the name you called me, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, yes I recognised the aroma.’
‘Where does it come from?’
‘Can I tell you another time?’
‘Of course, and this,’ said Claire, waving the flask in the direction of a nearby parked car, ‘must be your famous machine. When you weren’t telling the manager off you did insist I know everything about this shiny monster.’
Alexi drew a deep breath and almost let out a sigh. It was the red sports car belonging to Ariel. Claire opened the passenger door and strapped herself into the padded seat.
‘We can still go clubbing if you want to, but I’d rather go for a drive.’
Alexi felt in his jacket pocket and drew out an ignition key. For a moment it sparkled as if having some inner fire, then became just another key.
‘You know,’ said Claire, ‘I’ve always been attracted to men with black hair, dark piercing eyes, and who drive fast expensive cars.’
‘That sounds a bit shallow.’
‘I was just testing you. After the drive we could go back to my flat for a coffee, as my roommate is out until the early hours, or we could go to your place. Ah! You live with your mother, don’t you?’
‘Yes I do, and I know she’d love to meet you, but tonight a good friend, a very good friend, will be calling upon her. She hasn’t seen him in a long while, and I’m sure they’ll have a lot to catch up on.’