She Smelled of Cherries

When I was little, I didn't know that I was different. I thought my mother knew that she smelled like coconut and my father like fresh-cut grass. But as I grew older, I started getting funny looks whenever I mentioned what people smelled like. They called me a bully for saying that Jason smelled like rotten eggs. It wasn't a surprise when he hit me. You are what you smell like.

But as I lay on the ground, my nose bleeding, I could still smell Sheila. And she came to me with a wet cloth and dabbed the blood away.