That day was freezing cold. It was the kind of cold that freezes your ears and dries your lips when you stay outside for too long without the proper pieces of clothing. I ventured out anyway.
Clothed like the Paddington Bear itself, I drove to a familiar place. The underground parking garage was nearly empty and I found a spot right next to the staircase. As I climbed the stairs, I braced myself for the shock of stepping outside again. Because I was ready, the cold did not hit me as hard that time.
I turned left and then right, carefully treading the brick pavement in case some parts have turned into a tiny skating rink overnight. It was almost noontime then but this far up North with this weather and this season, it felt like it was still dawn. The square was quiet. I could hear the footsteps of other brave souls who dared to explore the frozen world like I did.
Pushing the door to the little shop, I inhaled deeply. I was in my wonderland. As if it was my first time to be there, I reoriented my senses because there were so many to take in. So many things to see, to touch, to feel, and most of all, to smell. I took a few steps to the left and I realized that there are things to taste now, too, for the shop-owner recently brought those tiny vintage-looking candies from Italy. All the shop needed were items that could make a sound and it would have been a complete showcase for the senses, but then I realized, the sounds for the whole experience come from people, like me, with all the rustling of my clothing as it brushes against my arm and the sound of my ooohs and aaahs as I discovered tiny wonders in flea market trinkets and antiques from around the world.
My favorite spot of all was the long narrow table at the middle, arranged with tiny domes of glass, with dainty cards neatly placed right next to each perfume bottle. From Scotland, France, Italy… I read the descriptions in a whisper. What brilliant, creative minds came up with all of these scents composed from notes that were quite unfamiliar to me. I picked up a dome and smelled it. I smelled my favorite, saffron, right away followed by cumin. Was that bitter orange flower? I asked myself. After a moment I started recognizing dark rose and leather notes as well. Plus, there were so many more. So many more things hidden and blended into one unified name, and yet, they retained their own identity in the process.
I wanted the moment to, like the world outside, freeze and stay in that frame forever. For a brief period, time stood still and all of the wonders of the world I have yet to explore revealed themselves to me in tiny molecules escaping from an unpretentious clear glass bottle.
Read more about my journey through the sense of smell: Redolence Series Archive
vignettes are quite new to me and i have just started exploring them in 2024.
Very evocative. I wanted to keep reading.