Sandalwood

I walk into a room and smell a faint scent.  A quiet strong scent, though not overpowering.  Across the room sits a beautiful woman, smiling at me, her sad eyes catch mine and hold their gaze.  I am drawn to her side, her smile causing a warmth to well up inside my chest.

As I kneel down to kiss her hand, the faint smell surrounds me on the cool air of the room.  My lips meet her hand and my senses are filled with the fragrance I met when I entered.

The subtlety of the perfume creeps up on me and overwhelms me with its soft clutches.  My lips are frozen in time, numbed to the faint beat of her heart, through the wrist, her life pulsating beneath the skin where the fragrance lies.

I slowly lift my eyes to meet her gaze as I breathe deeply.  Expecting a warm breeze of fragrance, I instead am met with a wintry breath, the scent entering my nose and cooling the fine hairs at the edge.

I break my kiss and stand.  My hands tingle with anticipation, begging to be lifted to my face, welcoming the new redolence with pregnant awe.  I smile and bow slightly, lifting my right hand to the brim of my hat.

"Ma'am."

I turn and walk from the room, my hand still clutching my hat, the breeze from my gait wafting back toward my face.  I smile as I drink in the memory of her beauty, the eyes that never left mine, the choice of perfume that perfectly defined who she was - the mystery, the woman, the rare jewel...

Sandalwood.