As I said in my previous post, our friend was here on wednesday evening. It wasn’t the sad night I thought it could have been, it was at first for my mother and her but then we brightened it up quite well. We joked and laughed like we usually do and also talked about some interesting more serious topics, it was really nice.
After dinner my mother brought on the table a tray full of sweets that she brought from Lecce a few days ago and as soon as I smelled it, without even having the time to realize I was doing it, I started describing a whole situation associated with the smell of those sweets including the smallest details, that then turned into a story. I always do that, I can describe detailed situations and stories just from a smell, it comes so natural, and it’s like when it happens I’m really there, living that story or situation. I usually keep them to myself, but this time, maybe helped by the fact that it was getting late in the evening - that time of day is magic… - I started saying it all out loud. My friend found my coming out of nowhere with a random story quite interesting, so I told her what it was all about and she said, have you ever thought of writing a book with the story you create from smelling things? Honestly I never thought of something like that, someone told me I should keep a journal, and I’m doing that, my sister tells me I should write a book, but I never thought of writing these stories. They were always something mine, more for shiness and lack of confidence than for not wanting to share. Plus writing is not something I am so good at, the rare times I can put my often messy mixed thoughts into words I can’t do more than give a small idea of what I want to say. I have to admit that writing a collection of short stories each one inspired by a smell could be at least a quite original idea, and she said she would help me and give me ideas and comments, and most of all encouragement. She believes I can do it, and that helps a lot.
We were imagining this book of short stories with an introduction explaining the whole idea, and at the beginning of each story a few words to say what smell and situation inspired it. Now we’re collecting ideas, we’ll see where this will go.
I’m also happy that even with the religion problems and her having to stop communicating with my mother she’s not doing the same with me, others would probably have done that, but she’s smart lol.
I don’t expect to be published or anything serious like that, but it’s an experience that can be useful in many ways, help me find out why my mind is often so blocked, get better with expressing myself and writing, and just something I can try to do, just because I can and want to, and there’s only one way to know how it will go.
Until not long ago, I would have listened to people’s discouraging words and believed I couldn’t do it. But I just found out just some months ago how it feels when someone sees things in you that you could never see before, and believes in you, it brings out the best in you and makes you believe in yourself too, no matter what others think and how many times they tell you you can only keep dreaming and are not good enough for what you want to do and be.
But I’m going to keep my beautiful life changing experiences to myself, and who knows, maybe one day I could decide to write about it, too.
