Cherry Blossom by Anastasiia Zubok

Leaving a parents’ house is always stressful,

especially when you are not ready for that. Nevertheless, it opens plenty of opportunities, and you can start a new chapter in your life. But there are some cases which can turn this occasion into the pure torture. One of them is war.

Madeline was forced to leave her parent’s house at the age of 16 as the war had started. She left all her stuff at home, taking with her only documents, as her hometown was occupied, and she couldn’t do anything but move out. Madeline didn’t choose this fate. The scariest fact is that her parents weren’t allowed to leave with her. She was a child, so she could survive.

Today, Madeline’s hometown is free, but she still doesn’t know what happened to her parents. Lamentably, she lost touch with them.

Madeline moved to her parents’ house after living in another country for years. When she had come into, she noticed that the windows were shot out. There wasn’t anyone inside the house. A lot of stuff was stolen, but the attic room was still closed. The woman opened it with an old key. The room was dusty, but everything else was the same as it was when Madeline was a 16 years old teenager. She found there a familiar box with her stuff. There was a bottle of her favourite perfume, which she used to wear being a teenage girl. Madeline loved to apply it each time she left the house. It was a gift her mother gave her for a birthday. “Perfume holds memories” they say. That’s so true. “My lovely mother. Where are you now?”, the woman said with grief.   

Madeline opened the bottle and sniffed the perfume. The flowery smell was so sweet and fresh at the same time. That recognizable scent of cherry blossom made Madeline remember everything. All the memories from the forgotten past revealed: the first love, the first kiss, the peaceful spring nights spent with parents, the cherry blossom scent.