Hyacinth

– Did you notice the fragrance?
– What fragrance?
– In the kitchen. The fragrance in the kitchen.
– I noticed something. I thought at first it was the cooking. And then I wondered if something had crawled under the floorboards.
– It is a solid floor.
– Of course. My sense of smell is not very sensitive. It has proven a hindrance all my life.
– But you must have been aware of the heady perfume coming from the hyacinths?
– You mean the blue things on the windowsill? I was wondering about them.
– I thought they would add a bit of colour. And, of course, the unmistakeable fragrance. A sign that winter will soon be gone, and spring will be here.
– It is still quite wintry outside.
– Well, yes.
– Storms and gales and floods.
– It has certainly been inclement, these last few months. But that is why a few delicate blossoms can be so uplifting. You must feel uplifted?
– I suppose. It is just a relief that there is nothing dead under the floorboards.