The Most Interesting Man I’d Ever Seen

He did not exactly look like a girl but he did not look like a boy either. It appeared as if he couldn’t quite decide which he wanted to be. His small beady eyes shone like shiny round pebbles and they darted around the room like he was frightened by something. He smelled like grapes, not the type in your fridge, the ones that hang off trees; green and unripe. It wasn’t his ambiguous appearance or his odd smell that caught my attention though, it was the annoying way he pushed against me every time he turned around to glance across the room. Each time his body touched mine, I smelled a new smell, more pungent, like stale oranges. It was almost like whatever it was that made him smell kept decaying by the minute. He turn around to face me after the last sweep.

“Sorry.”

His voice had had a rich melodious tone to it. It was the most interesting thing I’d ever seen. He looked like he was about to sniff your hair; not in a nice way like he were your lover but in a psychopathic kind of way. But surprisingly, he sounded how you imagined the guy who bumps into you in one of your romantic fantasies would sound. You know, when he bends over to pick up your pile of books or your gig bag — whatever your thing is.

I was so flustered by the sound of his voice that his skittish movements became less irritating. He continued turning around and emitting his peculiar smell but each time he brushed against my shoulders, he apologized in that divine voice that made me weak in the knees.

He got off at the next bus-stop and by that time, he had begun to look more like a boy. He pulled his long hair in a tight bun as he walked down the aisle, causing his face to become more prominent. Underneath his beady eyes was a nose so narrow and thin like it had been compressed with a plier. I felt a wave of sadness because he probably did not realize he smelled funny, what with his nostrils being pressed shut. He had a wide thin mouth, like a smiley face. But even with all the peculiarity of his features, he still managed to be quite handsome. Well, maybe not handsome handsome but attractive in an alien kind of way.

After he had gotten off the bus, the smell of stale oranges still lingered, but somehow, it had become an appealing scent.