In case yesterday’s post got too religious for you, here’s a deep memory I had today, while leaving my house.
There is a perfume a friend passed to me, its an Hermes scent, but I can’t remember the name of it. It might be Galop d’Hermes, but it has a strong scent to it. I wore it in the morning, and it’s still stuck on my right now. Clarice doesn’t like it too much, and neither did my friend, thus it came to me. I have no preferences for scent, only the appropriate day for the appriopriate scent, so I’m totally fine with any scent profile.
But its the memories it brings. I’m reminded of the days in Jalan Minyak, where Clarice and I struggled for sanity. It was not the easiest start to our marriage, but I think we grew in huge ways from there. It was challenging, and I remember I wore this scent out on a day where I was alone working at a cafe. Because Clarice didn’t like the scent, I would wear it on days when she wasn’t around. So on an afternoon, walking around the Clarke Quay area nearby, I’d wear this scent and sit a cafe and work.
The scent reminds me of how I grew, and reminds me of the person I left behind. It brings memories of the dark night, lying in our hot bedroom, because there was no aircon. The hotel next door would suddenly rumble to life, with the smell of someone’s room service wafting through the forest separating our apartment and the hotel. Later, I would also have some afternoons at said hotel because of the Work From Hotel packages they would have. For a very decent price, you could work at the hotel the whole day, with wifi, and a certain credit amount for food. It was a super good deal.
The smell of it reminds me of a friend who came over for dinner, and she shared parts of her life with us at different times. Not easy things to share, and not easy things to hear, but that’s what friendships are made of. I split the bottle of perfume out for her, and gave her a bottle of it. She would definitely suit the scent a lot more than I would. I remember seeing her face in our warmly lit kitchen dining area at home, and looking quite at ease. It was a chill vibe our place carried, despite the heat.
I remember a bag I carried with this scent– I do pair my bags and outfits with my scents, and this particular bag suited this scent. It was a green tote bag, given by another friend. It seemed the most appropriate match, and I still think it is the next best bag to wear with the scent. I would stuff in my denim jacket, and find my spot at the nearby Starbucks, and churn out the range of projects I had to finish then.
A scent brings memories for me. But a scent is really passing. It’s invisible, but it’s there. It’s not much but it can change moods. Isn’t that our lives on other people? As people pass on, they were there for that moment. The Now. But they’ve moved on. They leave such an impression on us, and make us think and remember so much.
I hope I was a nice scent for the people around. Both literally and figuratively for today.
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