The Girl No One Could See

My daughter, Elise Dolton, got sick, so I rushed over to take care of her.

The moment I stepped inside, a rotten stench hit me right in the face, so I offered to help clean the place up.

Her roommates' faces dropped right away.

"What smell, Mrs. Dolton? The place is fine."

"If you think it's such a dump, then have Elise move out. Don't come in here acting like you're better than all of us. We're not putting up with that!"

Even Elise shoved me impatiently. "If you’re here to visit, then just act like it. Stop making a scene and embarrassing me, okay?”

They were all college roommates, splitting rent on a run-down unit in an old complex. When I went in, I noticed them gathered around a pot of spicy stew.

The room was thick with steam and smoke, but it still couldn't cover that awful stench.

Strangely, none of them seemed to notice it. Had something gone wrong with my sense of smell?

That night, the smell was so overwhelming that I couldn't fall asleep.

In the end, I realized the odor was coming from Elise herself.

I hurried her into the bathroom and scrubbed her down over and over, but the smell didn't fade at all. It stayed just as strong.

With no other option, I called a cleaner, planning to disinfect the entire place inside and out.

But Elise's roommates felt offended and started arguing with me.

In the chaos, someone shoved me. My temple slammed into the sharp corner of the coffee table, and I died on the spot.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment I first walked through the door. The stench rushed at me all over again...

The rotten smell hit me so hard that my stomach twisted instantly.

But why was it that none of them, including my daughter, Elise Dolton, seemed to notice anything at all?

"Mom? What are you doing here? My roommates have been taking great care of me. I'll be back to classes in a few days. You really didn't have to come."

I was still dazed when Elise walked over and took my luggage.

She said I didn't need to come, but her eyes were full of surprise and quiet happiness.

I had always been strict with her, and we were never that close. Still, I knew she had always wanted my approval, my affection.

Her roommates were warm, too. They invited me to sit down and have stew with them.

I realized that as long as I didn't mention the smell on Elise and set them off, we could get along just fine.

Remembering how the argument last time led to my death, I decided to hold back for now. I would figure out the source of the smell without causing any conflict.

The next day, I went straight to the hospital for a checkup. The results showed nothing wrong with my sense of smell. I even double-checked multiple times. Everything I could smell matched what a normal person should.

Which meant the stench was real.

I could smell it.

Elise and her roommates couldn't.

With that in mind, I bought some strong-smelling things like perfume, smoked mackerel, and blue cheese to test them.

I hid them in different corners of the apartment.

It didn't take long for me to realize Elise's odor had already filled the entire place, completely overpowering everything else. The test was pointless.

Even if their sense of smell was normal, there was no way they could pick up anything I had hidden.

Just as I was about to gather everything and put it all in one spot, Elise suddenly rushed out of her room. "Mom, what's that smell? It's awful!"

My heart leapt. "You can smell it too?"

She frowned, covering her nose. "It's so strong that I can barely breathe. How could I not smell it?"

I grabbed her hand, excited, ready to take her to the hospital to figure out where it was coming from.

She shoved me aside and walked straight to the corner, pulling a box of blue cheese out from behind the curtain. She shot me an annoyed look.

"Mom, my roommates are all really clean. Why would you hide something like this here? Are you trying to attract rats?"

Before I could respond, her roommates came back from class.

The second they stepped inside, they pinched their noses, their faces full of disgust. In less than two minutes, they found everything I had hidden.

"Mrs. Dolton, we respect you. Please show us the same respect, okay?"

"If you want to stay and take care of Elise, then don't bring stuff like this back here again."

My scalp prickled.

What the hell was going on?

They couldn't smell that overwhelming stench, but they could smell smoked mackerel that hadn't even been opened?