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[pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/search/unpleasant%20smell/)
Before the person arrives, the unwelcome scent declares itself as a mistake resisting correction. As though it couldn't choose what it desired to be, it clings to the air, weighty and uncertain, a clash of sweetness and something sour. You exhale lightly not to be impolite but rather to live through the moment. It lingers on clothing, on memory, on the edge of your patience, asking to be seen even when you wish it would vanish.
Still it has an integrity. Unsuitable fragrance reveals a story of misplaced effort, of confidence devoid of calibration. It reminds you that intention doesn't promise harmony and more is not always better. The lesson took long after it was done: to be subtle is necessary; to be aware is necessary; and occasionally the presence that is loud is the one who needed to be restrain, not amplification.