Seriously Weird: The Smell of Love

but I didn't notice them. I was feeling down. Real down.

I got as far as the next coorer as saw the junk lady. I called her that because she always sold junk. I thought it was junk anyway, but lots of tourists bought the stuff from her so maybe it wasn't all junk.

She had a table, with an old cloth hanging down the front. Behind her were some flat boards, with hundreds of little trinkets and bead-things pinned to them. She sat at her table all day, when it was fine, waiting for people to stop and buy something.

I usually had a look at her junk, but I never said anything to her. I thought she was a mad because of the way she looked at me, and the funny clothes she wore.

But today was different. As soon as the junk lady saw me she leaned over her table and stared straight into my face. It wasn't a pretty sight.

She had wrinkles all round her eyes, like old varnish, and flecks of brown, like freckles having conferences, on her forehead. Most of her front teeth were missing too so she didn't have much to smile with.

"Looking for some perfume are you?"

I stopped walking and my mouth flopped open like a stupid goldfish.

"Yes?"

"Some really good perfume, such as will win a fair maiden's heart?" she said.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How did she know about me and Amee!

"I know about you and that girl of yours," said the junk lady, winking, "I see many things from a long way away. I know a lot more about what goes on round here than people realize. They think I'm stupid. Lost all my marbles! Crazy? But I'm not, am I! No, I'm watching everything, and hearing everything."

I decided that the best thing I could do was politely excuse myself and tear off down the street, to get as far from her as possible, but she kept looking at me real sharp and I couldn't move.

"Come on!" she said, "Talk to me! Cat's got your tongue has it?"

"No, I was... er"

"So what kind of perfume do you want?"