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Her first day at school smells just right
"The house is so quiet, it's almost eerie," I thought to myself. A plastic doll with a fake, painted smile lay forgotten on the floor with other abandoned toys in its wake.
- By Mehmudah Rehman, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 23:31 October 28, 2008
"The house is so quiet, it's almost eerie," I thought to myself. A plastic doll with a fake, painted smile lay forgotten on the floor with other abandoned toys in its wake.
Well, this was it... the "me" time I always wanted, those few precious moments that I craved for, simply to pamper myself and to relax. The trouble is that I was anything but relaxed ever since I had dropped my little girl off to school a while back. Perhaps I should explain.
Her clothes ironed to perfection, her lunch box and school bag in hand, I accompanied my daughter to school for the first time. She was reluctant to let go of my hand, (this, after days of gentle persuasion) but a friendly teacher held her hand and led her to another world beyond the secure confines of my arms.
And before she knew it, my little girl was in the bright and cheery classroom. I watched her from the window (half-hiding behind a plant) with a mixture of amusement and wryness as she picked up some play-dough, and the same child who had been unwilling to let go of my hand moments ago, seemed oblivious to my existence. Well, then, that was it. She would be fine. I turned to leave.
Back home, everything seemed empty and dull, as the day stretched ahead, agonisingly boring. I listlessly tried to busy myself with some chores and work, but even I had not anticipated how much I would miss the cheerful banter that I, at times, considered a nuisance.
I tried comforting myself with how spick and span everything looked (for once, there was no spilt milk on the floor) and how much easier it was to make some phone-calls or even enjoy a quiet moment with a book. At long last, it was time to collect her. With unsuppressed joy, I quickly made my way to the school.
My daughter leapt into my arms at the very sight of me, and call me selfish if you will, but I felt relieved even as she indignantly black-listed everything the school had to offer - including the brightly painted swings!
I have to confess I had been worried about her - would the staff know what my little girl wanted? Would she be scared? Should I have stayed at the school in case something went wrong? The few hours that she had been away had been full of anxious tension. So I decided to speak to her teacher before leaving, to make sure the day had gone well.
I nodded absently as my daughter's teacher assured me that the little one had had a field day and that I had nothing to worry about... because I was paying far more attention to the perfume she was wearing than to the words she was uttering.
Now where had I smelt that familiar scent before? And then I remembered. I was ten years old, all over again.
The power of perfume must never be under-estimated, the human nose can recognise thousands of different smells. Smells also create memories, and the whiff of a familiar perfume from yesteryear can take you back several decades.
My school days flashed in front of me as I was transported back to the junior school I went to as a child. Of course I remembered that smell. A favourite teacher of mine always wore that, in fact it was her trademark. I didn't know they still made that perfume. And as I bid the teacher good-bye, in an odd way I was comforted. My little one would really be okay.
Mehmudah Rehman is a Dubai-based freelance writer.
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