SADE

I sat at one of the long oak tables in the academy library, surrounded by old books that smelled like dust and secrets. My notebook was open in front of me, pages already half-filled with scribbles about rare oils (oud, ambergris, tuberose absolute) and how they changed when you mixed them with something sharp like bergamot or something sweet like vanilla.

I was obsessed. Hours went by, and I didn’t even notice. The way jasmine opened up at night, the way sandalwood made everything feel expensive and warm… I wrote it all down like it was the most essential thing in the world.

Because maybe it was.

One day,...