He was only living in the shelter temporarily, while it was cold outside and while there was no money to rent an apartment. David was surprised by the impudence of this strange Pole. The other residents of the shelter lied godlessly about how the church and priest helped them to live a sinless Christian life. By the way, a strong alcohol smell emanated from some. They asked “Mr. Journalist” for 10 bucks to cure their hangover. And Martin, an insolent person, called the Protestant priest a “boring padre” and didn’t beg for any money from David.

Indeed, he clearly stood out among these down and out people, who were beaten by life. He kept to himself and smoked in the church courtyard while glancing over his shoulder at how the journalist talked with the residents of the shelter.

When they both sat at the table and began to speak, David quickly turned off the recorder. He understood with a gut instinct: in front of him was sitting not a common homeless person but someone special.

The only thing that confused David was the odor emanating from Martin. New York street bums have a specific stench: the pungent, heavy smells of dirty clothing that hasn’t been cleaned for months, stiff socks, and a body that hasn’t been washed in ages, mixed with the odor of perspiration seeping through the pores after hard drinking. Even hot water and soap, even deodorant, shampoo and new clothes couldn’t kill the stench. A New York street bum absorbs into himself all the fetid stench of the great city, all its slop containers, dumps, cesspools, all its evaporation, urine, vomit, decay, decomposition, rot, lewdness, sperm, spit, trashcans, garbage trucks, rats, dead cats and pigeons. All this stench breaks through and is sucked into the pores, into each cell of his body. And this proud Polish Catholic exuded the stink of a New York bum like no other.

David was an aesthete, but he had practically no sense of smell. He could recognize only a few sharp smells. But he was blind to tender perfumes that always annoyed his ex-wife. Though he did recognize and remember well the scent of her body. Besides, his son’s skin smells the same. He hadn’t seen his son for almost two weeks…

Then David met Martin once again, but not at the shelter. He allegedly wanted to finish his interview with him, to hear the rest of his story.