The Scent of Petrol on the Concrete Ramp

Dear Delyara, A delivery van must have leaked a tank of fuel on the main loading ramp during the evening shift change. The thick, sickly sweet vapor of raw petrol has crawled right under the door seal, filling the entire office with a smell that makes my throat burn. It instantly took me back to the commercial transport logistics lectures I took during my university business program—all those case studies on optimization and corporate efficiency. Out here on the ground, efficiency just looks like an oily rainbow slick twisting across a wet concrete slab under a broken spotlight. I cracked the small transom window an inch to let the freezing river air cut through the fumes, refusing to let the industrial haze cloud my focus.