When I first moved here, I knew it was different. It wasn’t a shiny new house. It was older, with a history of its own. The kind of place that had a little soul, yet still left room for my story. 

So, I ended up here.

The house had a quiet garden that had clearly been left to its own devices. 

The wooden floors creaked a little, so you knew they were there.

I noticed a wooden shelf meant for books that I hadn’t seen when touring the house with the realtor. I walked over to it and realized there was a room behind it, just like in the movies.

A study? A lab?

I stepped inside.

There was a brown bottle of perfume on a wooden table. It looked as though someone had deliberately left it there. 

I continued walking through the house, taking everything in, trying to make sense of the place. I remember the house had smelled heavenly on my first visit here.

So I went out into the garden again. Most of the plants seemed native to the area. They had clearly been left alone for a long time and desperately needed some attention and water.

As I was watering the plants, a small lavender field caught my eye. It was tucked away in a corner at the back of the house.

This would make a great reading place, I thought.

And just like that, I had found the first place in the house that felt completely mine.

Back inside, I left the bottle alone for the night. I was still unsure and a little confused about why someone would intentionally leave a bottle of perfume behind.

Unpacking had taken quite some time, so by then I was physically and mentally ready for a good night’s sleep.

---

The next morning, sunlight was pouring through the windows. I couldn’t resist it and went outside to enjoy it for a while.

But I couldn’t ignore the bottle anymore. It had stayed on my mind throughout the night.

It sat there as if it were waiting.

I stepped into the small room to examine it once again, this time in the daylight. The place had its own charm, its own personality. Bunches of dried flowers and a few antique pieces, still in good shape, rested on a rug over the wooden floor.

I picked up the bottle.

The scent hit me immediately.

So this was what had been lingering throughout the house all along.

I could smell blueberries and tangerines coming from the brown glass bottle — a combination I wouldn’t have expected at first.

I wasn’t sure what to do with it next, but I decided to try it on my skin.

Magnetic. I felt lost for a moment.

It sprayed beautifully, too.

Huh.

Something about the scent made life feel different. It opened a door inside me, though I couldn’t tell where it led. Memories of the future?

Perhaps this was what had drawn me to the place in the first place.

I moved back into the main part of the house and continued unpacking the remaining boxes. But I wanted to understand what it was I was experiencing.

I had to go back for another spritz.

I knew this might be the only bottle, so I shouldn’t get too carried away. 

I went for it again.

This time, it felt as though the scent was settling into my thoughts. My ideas were different now. Priorities had shifted.

The place was starting to feel mysterious.

I didn’t mind that there were more questions than answers.

After all, that is what life is like — more questions than answers.


— End of Part I —