scents and memories
first spritz pa lang nung nabili kong perfume, mangiyak-ngiyak na ko kaninang umaga. totoo nga na asmell can bring you back.
suddenly i was there again, the naïve girl who thought she would be chosen simply because of love. the times i thought this was it. the forever i never thought i'd get. the times when we were in our own world. tayo lang. the times when, if you'd ask if i was happy, i'd immediately say yes, no hesitation.
it was so long ago, i should have forgotten everything. i mean, i have, some of it. but the important parts? andito pa sa utak ko, tucked somewhere. with one spray, it all came rushing back.
how much i loved you. how much i wanted you to choose me. how much i wanted to beg, then backtracking because i also know that i shouldn't have to beg. how much this scent made me feel safe, made my heart flutter whenever i'd smell it because i know it was you coming.
how much i associated this smell with you.
if i don't dwell on the ending too much, i think i would've associated this smell with the time i first fell in love, and feel happy and possibly bittersweet. but i can't. so now all i feel is that familiar pain, again, of remembering that i wasn't worth the risk.
the scent still slaps, though, so i'll continue using it. and associating better memories for it.