Temptre$$

At nineteen, my days belonged to an office, my nights to a bar in Midtown Memphis. From eight to five, I sat under fluorescent lights, answering phones and shuffling papers. By seven, I traded that world for the low hum of music, the clinking of glasses, and the sharp perfume of an upscale night crowd. I lived on this rhythm.. two jobs stitched together.. nearly a year of exhaustion disguised as ambition.

One night, halfway through a shift, I slipped outside to the alley behind the bar. My legs ached from hours in heels, and I just needed air. I needed to breath... The alley was dim, the kind of place that looked like the start of a horror film.. shadows pressed against brick, a flickering light overhead.

From the darkness, a man emerged.. Barefoot, worn by the streets. He asked me for a cigarette..  his eyes fixed on me as though he saw something I couldn’t. And then, in a voice both unsettling and certain, he said:

“You will have no temptation in life. You are the temptress.”

And then he walked away. Those words carved themselves into me, strange and unforgettable. Scary, even. Now, more than a decade later, I still hear them. When life feels sharp and heavy, I repeat them like a secret mantra. A reminder from a barefoot stranger in the shadows.. one of those moments that lodges itself in your bones and becomes part of who you are. I hope he's doing well... 

Orange Blossom • Grapefruit  •  Jasmine Sambac  •  White Tea  • Vanilla  •  Sandalwood