[ WP ] Some people can see the future . You ? You can smell it .

It took me a while to figure out what my nose is capable of. Growing up, I remember people telling me that I had the worst sense of smell. Sometimes I would be so grossed out by a smell that I had to leave the room while other people doesn ’ t even appear to be noticing it, let alone bothered; other times I would easily overdose on perfume and turn myself into a human car freshener, or stick my nose so close into the flowering shrubs that my friend felt “ obliged ” to nudge my ass into it. Anyways, growing up, all of my families and close friends have established that my nose is not to be trusted. It either understates the situation to my brain, or gives it false alarms. No doctor could figure out what was wrong with me, not even psychologists. I think it makes food less agreeable too, but over the year I ’ ve long made peace with it. 
 
 After I hit 20 years old, my crazy nose got even worse. The first time I realized I had an ability was in college. My roommate was a Chinese dude who dedicated much of his time to our kitchen. Apparently, legit Sichuan cuisine involves a lot of oil and stir-frying, and gives out a strong although mouthwatering smell that at times confused our fire alarm, to the point we had to take the batteries out. But everything smelled muffled to me anyways, so I didn ’ t really mind. 
 
 One day, I was woken up from a nap by the sharp smell of smoke and burnt fabric. I jumped up and dashed out to grab the fire distinguisher, only to find my roommate staring at me in shock, apron around the waist, looking as in control as always. While I tried to explain to him how I thought I smelled fire, I could barely focus on the conversation because the smell was only getting stronger and stronger. All of a sudden, his wok caught fire, and before he could react, his apron lit up like Katy Perry ’ s Super Bowl outfit. All the splashed oil on it made it extra combustible and my poor roommate was already rolling on the ground screaming out of panic. It took me one second to react to what I already have imagined happening. I grabbed the apron, and with a swift kick in his stomach, tore it away from his neck. I never put down the fire distinguisher, so although I was scrambling a bit, it didn ’ t take me long to put out the small patch of fire that already melted his sweater. Then we just sort of froze there, shaking, and watched the burning apron and his dinner run their natural course of carbonization. “ Fuck. I think I ’ ll never grow chest hair again, ” he said. 
 
 He got several burn wounds and had to wear sharpie eyebrows for a long time, while I got blisters all over my right arm and peed a little in my pants. But I was ecstatic. It all made sense now! The wok caught fire in front of my eyes, but I was able to smell it minutes before it happened. After some experiment and practice, I realized that I could detect two kinds of smells: the kind that I share with everyone else, which appears distant and dull to me; and the kind that only I can detect, which I am very sensitive to. The more fresh it smells, the closer it is to happening. 
 
 I became the legend of our college. Well, not really. But I put my ability to good use and sometimes it made me feel like a secret superhero. Besides saving my roommate from his suicidal cooking skill, I also always knew when to drag my drunken friends out of a party right before they could throw up on their date. Sometimes I could even predict the weather. 
 
 My ability isn ’ t a great one, but I love it, and I genuinely enjoyed deducing the future based on what I can discreetly pick up in the air to protect my friends and I from undesirable situations. So I started paying more attention to the second kind of smell; it made me feel like a secret hero on the move, only instead of a miserably crappy childhood and all the moral burdens, I get the adoration from my families and friends. 
 
 Last week, I caught the most disturbing scent when I got out of the coffee shop. It took me a while to find the spot where the smell is the strongest, and it was in the middle of the street. A trace of smoke, some hint of burnt rubber, and the fragrance of roasted meat – it finally hit me that there was going to be an accident! For the second time, life is on the line, and I can use my ability to prevent it. I started hanging out at this crossing when I don ’ t have classes, screening for safety hazards. I forced the air deep into my lung to try and figure out the details, the time. 
 
 Today. It is going to happen today. The ensanguined sweetness is in the air, so dense and vivid that I feel like I can taste it in my pores. Shit ’ s going down any minute now. I take out my phone and dial 911: “ Hello, I would like to report an acciden… ” I see a little girl on her tricycle crossing the street, while an oil truck is taking a turn onto the same road. Fuck! Like every superhero story, of course there is going to be a little fucking innocent girl! There ’ s still time, she ’ s not at the spot where the smell is the strongest yet, maybe I can push her out of the way. I launched for the other side of the street, at the same time, the truck driver sees me and makes a sharp turn to come to a stop. Did... did the smell just disappear? It, totally, did! There I find myself standing triumphantly in the middle of the street, smiling with tears rolling down my cheeks, while raising my arms up high to chant “ GOOO MEEEEE! ” like an idiot... And that ’ s when two things hit me. One was the SUV that knocks me from my back and wedges me directly into the oil tank; the other is the realization that the disappearing scent doesn ’ t necessarily mean that I stopped the accident – it could have just been me stopping to breathe, in a split of a second ’ s future. 

