New Memory
By Rufayda, Year 10
Finally you gave up and closed your eyes, tried to centre your breathing. Calm, you think.
With it, you recognised metal and the taste of invasion. Your tongue ached, longed to prod around, to do what has been done. But you held it off with your soft, calm breaths, and you remembered in the quiet. The tools continued in your mouth, against your teeth, but you’ve learned to ignore it now, and you would smile in your own knowing if not for the wide cave your mouth is.
When you opened your eyes next, you’re not in the inescapable white room. You’re home, and your mouth is closed.
You sniff — that’s what you’ve been doing all this time.
In your hand, held up to your nose, is a container.
In it is green. Green seeds, run through with pale brown.
You sniff — it bites and stabs.
It stings like your memory.
This vignette, New Memory by Rufayda, was created in Olfactory. Olfactory is a workshop series where students learn about features of discursive writing. They create a series of short responses or segments that will accumulate to become a personal essay about the olfactory world. Students survey their peers as to what is the most ‘puke-worthy’ smell. They develop their very own ‘personality perfume’. Students reflect on and share their personal connections to the world of smells, odours and fragrances. Lynx Africa, anyone? Student will learn about and employ such features as anecdotes, figurative language, factoids, allusion and anaphora.