There had always been a loathsome odor that seeped into the town of Sump. Some people said it came from the graveyard, which was flooded with warm, fetid water from the nuclear plant; others said it was from the nuclear plant. Every year new theories bubbled up, like fumes from the soil.
“I think it’s from the open-air fish market!”
“No! The smell comes from the cattle yard!”
“Or the rendering plant!”
“The maraschino cherry factory!”
With no definitive evidence to support their theories, the people of Sump just continued burning incense and pressing nosegays to their nostrils day in and day out. But when tourism dried up, and not even the Industrial Pump Museum could revive it, people panicked.
The citizens pooled their money together. With it, they ordered a bowl from giantglassbowls.com, and filled it with a thousand tons of the strongest-smelling, bulk potpourri that they could afford.
Jess
