SADE

After the flashbacks ended for a bit, I sat alone at my station again, my shoulders hunched, my fingers resting on the cold glass where all my bottles stood. I was still searching for the scent, the one scent that could explain my life without my saying a word. The smell that would tell Madam Valee the pain I passed throughout my life simply by inhaling.

The lab was quiet in that way that made my thoughts louder, the low hum of machines, the faint clink of glass, the smell of alcohol and oils layered over each other until the air felt heavy, and I stayed there long after...