This is a rather sad story that I experienced just the other day.
I had been dating my girlfriend since we were in high school, and we had been together for eight years when we broke up.
I think the reason was something trivial, but a small fight triggered the end of our long relationship.
My girlfriend and I were both worried about each other and were even encouraged to get back together, but our stubborn personalities got the better of us and we ended our relationship completely.
One day, about five years later, I suddenly received a message from my ex-girlfriend, whom I hadn’t heard from at all.
She said that she wanted to see me after a long time and that she had visited my old apartment, but that it had been demolished and she wanted to know my current address.
To be honest, I was glad to get that message, because I hadn’t met anyone I liked more than her since I broke up with her.
I sent her my address, and we exchanged casual messages, trying to figure out our five-year gap, and ended the day with a promise that she would visit me at my current apartment that weekend.
A few days later, on the appointed day, she came to my house.
Although she was a little distant at first, she looked exactly the same as she did when we were dating, and smelled just as good as she did back then.
As the time went by, I began to regret breaking up with her. I was getting drunker and drunker, and our relationship was coming back to me.
I asked her what was bothering her the most, “By the way, why did you call me again so suddenly?”
And she said.
She replied, “Well, actually… Actually, there’s something I need your help with…”
I felt nervous at her sudden reluctance, but I tried to keep my composure.
She told me that she had to move soon, and she needed my help to clean up her room.
Not “moving,” you mean? You want me to help you clean up your room?”
I felt a little uncomfortable, but I didn’t go into it further.
She wanted it to be as soon as possible, so I promised her that I would come to her house tomorrow.
I watched her back at the entrance of her apartment building, I was feeling regretful about our breakup and thinking about whether I should ask her if we could start over again tomorrow, when she disappeared.
The next day in the evening, I arrived at the apartment where she lived a little earlier than promised.
It seemed that they were planning to demolish the building itself, with a sign at the entrance and a no-go sign on the door of each room.
I walked up the stairs to her room and reached out my finger to press the doorbell.
“Gee…”
I reached out to press the doorbell, and the door opened with a squeak.
“Sorry. I’m a little early, aren’t I?”
The curtains were closed, the lights were off, and she was sitting on the middle of the dark room.
What the hell? It’s so dark, I can’t see anything.
Then she turned her back to me, said nothing, and pointed to the left side of the room with her left hand.
My eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but as I looked in the direction she was pointing, I could see a folding door that was probably a toilet or a unit bathroom.
What is it? Is there something in there?”
I took off my shoes, entered the room, and headed in the direction she was pointing, when suddenly a strong, strange smell hit my nose.
What the hell is that smell? What’s that smell?
As I said this, I looked into the room and saw that she was gone.
At that moment, I realized everything.
Gently, I approached the folding door and pushed the middle part of the door to open it. Inside, a strange odor incomparable to what I had just smelled flooded out, and inside the bathtub, I found her body in a state of disarray.
This was the reason why she asked me to help her clean up.
I immediately called the police and explained the situation to them, but they didn’t believe me more than half the time.
Rather, they seemed to suspect that I had killed her and dumped her body, and they persistently questioned me about the circumstances, but I was finally acquitted because the results of the autopsy showed that the cause of her death was illness.
The scene and the strong smell are still vividly etched in my mind even after several months have passed since then.
However, in the depths of that smell, there was just a little…
I felt a little sad that I could also detect a little bit of her scent from that time.
