Garden of Memories

Alix scooped up and a handful of the petals, peering intently at them at first.

"Oh! How odd... these aren't the right flower, but... these smell like the first time I baked... pansy shortbread cookies," they exclaimed and sniffed the petals deeply.

Pulling their head back, Alix shook off the scents gingerly and smiled as they reminisced. "It was the springtime after I first opened my bakery, and I was experimenting with lots of different pastries to get more customers. And honestly, to try some more for me. I went to the floral shop down the street and bought the most purple pansies," they explained.

The kalon settled down on the ground and sat crisscrossed, their elbow resting on one knee while their hand kept their face up. Alix sighed softly and murmured, "I had never baked with flowers before - real flowers, not the flour. Like the flowers in front of us."

At the mention of flowers, Alix turned their head back to the petals in their other hand and lifted them to their nose again. It felt good to remember things through scents, and that was how they lived the majority of their life. As a baker, you had to depend on scents to make sure things would taste good. The senses of smell and taste go hand in hand.

Too much time with their nose pressed against the petals made their head hurt, and they gave them back to the man. "I burnt the cookies a little on the edges, but the flowers were fine. I took them to the floral shop to thank the woman and asked her to try them. She said they were the most delicious flowers she had ever eaten! Which was surprising, considering she had actually eaten some of the flowers before. Anyway, some of the people in the shop overheard and flocked over to me. I got anxious and told them there were more in my bakery."

More explanations of the memory made their stomach growl, and Alix sheepishly smiled. "I was all sold out that day, and I didn't even get to try my newest creation. That was the only sad part," they sighed.

Standing up and wiping their hands on their pants, they shook hands with the man.

"Thank you for giving me a little taste - I mean, smell - of the past again. It really puts me in my place to remember the simple times."