I like the smell of orange…
It’s a gloomy and uneventful Wednesday afternoon. I go to the kitchen and pick up a burning bright orange from the bowl on the table. I cut it up and the zesty mist sprays my face. I feel the juice spill on my hand and the flesh of the fruit cold against my fingers. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Memories start flooding in, so many memories, as sweet as the orange itself.
10 years ago…
The smell of orange reminds me of the long frosty winter months back in Bulgaria. Me and my mom sat at the dinner table. It’s dark outside and I can hear the wind whistling through the crooked window frame. She’s cutting up the orange, peeling it skilfully and giving me the juiciest of pieces. She doesn’t let me touch the orange. ‘Just open your mouth Didka and I’ll feed it to you. I don’t want your hands to get sticky’. My job is then to take the peel, cut off the white bits, chopping the peel into tiny little peace and putting them in a jar. Chopped up peel, then sugar in layers. ‘Be careful not to cut yourself’, she’d say ‘that knife is sharp’; and then go on to tell me how we’ll use the sugary orange peel for cakes and winter cookies.
The smell of orange brings back sweet childhood memories.
12 months ago…
The smell of orange reminds me of the time I spend with my cousins in Hamburg. That time they took me to a Christmas market and we had Glühwein (traditional spiced wine). I remember holding the cup with both my hands, feeling the warmth of the porcelain. My body tense and shivering because of the cold. I can see my breath when I talk, my nose is bright pink and my eyes are watering because of the bitter cold air. I look down at my cup and inhale the sweet scent of the mulled wine, a zesty orange wedge and warm cinnamon. It makes my mouth water. I take a sip. It tastes citrusy sending a warm feeling from my mouth to my throat, then my chest and radiating out.
7 days ago…
The smell of orange reminds me of the hot bubble bath infused with a few drops of sweet orange essential oil. The warmth of the water relaxing every muscle in my body. Two of us, wrapped in a hug. He’s behind me. I am nestled between his legs, with my back pressed against his chest while he holds me in an embrace talking passionately about the book he’s currently reading. Just us two, soaking in the tub, the warm aroma of the orange oil lingering in the air and on my skin. I take a moment to take it all in, the smell, the way the water feels on my body, the way his wet skin feels against mine, the way he makes me smile.
I like the smell of orange…
