Friday Free Write

For today's free write exercise, I'm going to start with a memory of mine from when I was in Amsterdam and just see what transpires from there.


As she walked along the cobblestone street, trying in vain to stay level (who knew high heels would be so troublesome in the old part of the city?), her eyes bounced from one storefront to another. It seemed the Dutch had an endless appetite for women's apparel, which was in no way was a bad thing to Nikki.

She rounded a corner, ditched a massive sinkhole, and was overcome by a sweet smell in the air. It wasn't sickeningly sweet, like Grandma's perfume, nor was it so strong as to mask the everyday city odors. Nikki continued walking, checking her guidebook to make sure she was on the right path to the restaurant she was so excited to try, and became aware that the scent was developing more body, it was almost layering upon itself.

"The source must be nearby", she thought to herself, as she wrapped her thick wool coat tighter around her chest. April in Amsterdam was warmer than January, but not by much. She will later ask herself why she couldn't wait until the rainy season was over to come and explore this great city. Her thoughts were then interrupted as she inhaled deeply at the expanse just now coming into her view.

Nikki had stumbled upon the great Flower Market. Countless booths, floating end to end along the edge of the canal, butting up against the sidewalk stretched beyond her field of vision to her left and right, each booth containing various flowers in bloom, fresh bulbs, and other things flower related.

The source of the complex scent now revealed, Nikki was absorbed by the vibrant colors bursting forth from the booths. The flowers seemed to make the rest of the city appear in black and white. She slowed, studying every petal, touching each stem, taking in the spectacle of beauty before her. Her gaze fell on a nearby vendor, his cheerful demeanor and pleasant sounding conversation (she couldn't understand the words but could certainly hear his tone) were what made her realize that he was selling smiles, and who wouldn't be happy to do that for a living.

Nikki spent hours looking over the contents of each booth. The wind grew strong around the same time the noises her stomach were making became audible. She hated to walk away, but she knew that no matter what she did for the rest of her time here in Amsterdam, she would always have the memory of that flower market to take with her.