What's That Smell?

For the third time that morning the ghastly odor seeped into my cubicle at work. My eyes watered, my nose was running a marathon, and my throat felt like it was on fire. I had never smelled anything like it. It appeared to be emanating from the cubicle next to mine.

The nerd working in that cube was Frank. He never looked at anybody as he passed them on the way to his beloved work area. No one had ever seen his eyes, as far as I could tell. He would enter his cube almost reverently; muttering quietly about how glad he was to be back there. He would touch each object on his desk with a tenderness I reserved for the picture of my spouse and kids. It was rather unsettling at times.

It was almost time for lunch when the horrendous odor permeated the entire office for the fourth time. Tony, the swinging bachelor of the office, jumped up and yelled, "For cryin' out loud, Frank! What did you eat for supper last night?"

Frank just sat there, muttering to himself. At least I thought it was to himself, until I heard words and phrases like, "I can take care of it myself", and "Soon, it will be time."

Tony walked up to Franks cubicle. "Frank, look at me. I want to....." . At that moment Frank looked up at Tony, who immediately started to shake like an aspen tree in the wind. Objects started flying around the room. A paper clip holder almost hit my arm as it sailed to the water cooler, smashing it and cascading water onto the floor. The big brown stapler slammed down on Tony's foot, making him yelp from the pain.

I looked at Frank, who stood on his desk. Embers glowed in his eyes. In his hand, was the pencil sharpener. A greenish plume of something that looked like smoke was pouring out of it. Now I knew where the smell had been coming from.

I moved to the front of Frank's cubicle and joined the rest of the office workers already standing there. The Pencil Sharpener was held high in the air. The Green Plume completely enveloped Frank. All eyes riveted on him held a look of awe and reverence.

The Plume, with its overwhelming smell, expanded to encompass everyone in the office. I was not aware of space or time. The only thing that exsisted was the Green Plume. I was filled with its presence. I could only hear, taste, see, and smell Green.

After what seemed an eternity, I sensed it was time to return to my beloved cubicle. The Others in the office returned to their cubicles at exactly the same moment.

When it came time to go home, I reluctantly left the building. Each mile traveled further from the Pencil Sharpener with its Plume of Green, intensified the longing I had to be back in my cubicle. I missed each item. I ached for the place where I belonged.

The next day I walked into the office without looking at the Others. We all entered our cubicles reverently. How glad we were to be back there. We touched the objects on our desk with the tenderness each deserved. The aroma permeating the room was coming from each cubicle, not from just one. But this time, it seemed to be the most fragrant thing we had ever experienced.