Madeleines dipped in tea...

When I was in the fourth or fifth grade, a family moved from NYC into the house across the street from us. Dad was Iraqi, Mom was Jewish, the kiddies were evil. Their house was huge, and in my child's memory, so were they. Tall and dark is everything about them and their home, but the smell is very clear to me... strong coffee scented with what I now know was cardamom. There were other spices, too, but it's the cardamom that stands out in my mind's nose.

I blend my own perfume and somehow today I smell like the Mukamal's house.
Every time I breathe, I think about some people I haven't seen in twenty years.