copyright G.L MacMillan
Eau de Newfoundland
Stanley keeps tiny bottles of water from everywhere he’s visited, but he only ever opens one. He collected it on the beach in Griquet, Newfoundland. Smelling the salt water brings him back to that wild land of rock and trees, where moose roam and majestic icebergs float silently by the shore.
It’s not the nature he misses though. He left her there somewhere, that sandy-haired Newfie beauty he met by chance inside a Viking hut.
He keeps opening the bottle because if he listens closely, he can almost hear her, like the voice of an outport angel.
“Whaddya at, b’y?”
I feel this story needs some explanation for those who have never been to Newfoundland. I grew up there and although I have not been back in many years, it will always be home to me in many ways. So, for the curious, bored, or otherwise inclined, here are some links to peruse.
The Green-Walled Tower 
July 30th, 2015 at 12:33 am
Just like me with the smell of kimchi, it’ll always bring me back to Jeonju.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:10 pm
Yep. There are a lot of smells that would bring me right back to Korea.
July 30th, 2015 at 1:47 am
Very atmospheric. That must have been a wonderful childhood – you encapsulated the scene nicely.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:10 pm
Thanks, Sandra. Yes, Newfoundland was a great place to grow up.
July 30th, 2015 at 2:03 am
what a beauty!
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:11 pm
Thanks. 🙂
July 30th, 2015 at 7:48 am
I met someone who has tiny bottles of sand and dirt from all the places she has visited. The collection takes up most of a wall.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:11 pm
It’s a good visual reminder of places. I haven’t done that, but I appreciate that sort of thing.
July 30th, 2015 at 10:53 am
Ahh I hope they meet again one day.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:12 pm
I hope so too. I guess the rest of the story could fill a whole novel. 🙂
July 30th, 2015 at 11:21 am
Well crafted story. Nicely done.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:12 pm
Thanks! 🙂
July 30th, 2015 at 6:03 pm
When I was in high school, our pastor’s son married a girl from Newfoundland and moved there. It always sounded so exotic and wonderful.
Good story.
MG
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:13 pm
Wow, that’s quite the exception. Usually people only move away from Newfoundland. 🙂 It’s amazing that there are only about half a million Newfies in total, but they tend to go all over.
July 30th, 2015 at 7:35 pm
I like where you went with this. Scent is so important in our memories. Kudos.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:14 pm
Thanks Alicia. It’s amazing how certain scents can make memories just flood back.
July 31st, 2015 at 4:30 am
There’s no point living with regrets.
Good piece.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:15 pm
Good point, Mick. Everything in the past is only foundation for the future.
July 31st, 2015 at 8:51 am
Great story, I really like where you took me.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:15 pm
Thanks. Glad to hear it. 🙂
August 2nd, 2015 at 5:19 am
Dear David,
Wonderful and atmospheric. Perfect and clever title.
Shalom,
Rochelle
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:16 pm
Thanks Rochelle. I confess, I started with the title on this one since it just came to me and seemed too perfect to pass on. Glad you liked it.
-David
August 2nd, 2015 at 6:32 am
Scent is definitely the most evocative sense. I love the way it’s used in this story as a way of storing memories.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:17 pm
Thanks Miss Zebra. Glad to see you around again. 🙂
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:37 am
I agree with the fellow commenters on the scent. It’s powerful for getting memories back. I love your story, it brings me right back to my only visit to Newfoundland years ago. What I remember most vividly is the fog horn, and the snow heaps in June. Great, wild country.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:19 pm
You must have made it all the way up the Northern Peninsula if you saw snow in June. I remember having a snowball fight in June with my sisters up at the very northern tip, near L’Anse Aux Meadows, but in the central part, it’s fairly warm by then. It is a great place. I still miss it a lot, even after almost 20 years away.
August 4th, 2015 at 8:21 am
I only was in St. Johns and area, but the winter that year, we were told, was extreme with snow and lastet long. So there were some heaps left. It is a great place, I loved the time I spent there.
August 5th, 2015 at 3:59 am
where are you??? 😉
August 18th, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Traveling mostly, although I’m finally back. I’ve barely had a moment to myself for the last two weeks. ,