Chapter 23: Twenty Questions

The way the Earth smells after a downpour—both in the city and in the country—is one of the most authentic scents presented to our senses. Did you know they actually coined a term for it way back in 1964? So many people have had the same adoration for the scent, that it was officially termed ‘pertichor’: the distinctive smell that is created when rain mixes with the various compounds and plant oils on Earth.

For me, a simpler term would’ve been ‘clean.’ Somehow, the world feels like it had one huge bath, and for a split second, it’s cleansed and reborn. Everything seems brand new, and after the day that I had just had, I needed the absorb that feeling as much I possibly could. I also just liked the metaphor it created.