The day we made a perfume of our memories from 50 different scents.
A morning of bánh mì and French
I woke up and ordered a bánh mì. Today is the day I make perfume with Nga! I’d been wanting to do something fun together for a while, and it was my suggestion.
I've always loved perfume and I'm a bit of a fragrance nerd. So I thought, since it's a rare chance, I'd like to create a scent of our memories together.
I hurriedly took a shower and ordered a bánh mì on Grab. While eating, I also recorded some French. After eating and getting ready, I called a Grab and headed to the shopping mall. It was way up near the upper part of West Lake, so it was really far. It was raining today, so I got completely soaked.
Blindfolded from behind
When I arrived, Nga still hadn't shown up, so I went ahead to the perfume-making place. I got the explanation right away: there were about 50 perfume bottles, and you choose your favorite scents from them.
Then suddenly someone blindfolded me from behind. I thought who is it—turns out it was her. It was such a surprise, and that way of appearing was so her; I really loved it.
Our scent preferences are polar opposites
We spent about two hours making the perfume. Her scent and the scents I like are really different. They're completely opposite, you could say. She was saying things like, "I hate scents that are too sweet," or something like that (laughs). That bluntness is so her, and I liked it.
We asked each other, "How's this scent?" while making the perfume together. Dates like this were truly fun.
The food court and the rainy bike ride
We ate chicken at a nearby food court. She said her stomach hurt and she didn't have an appetite, so she didn't eat anything.
We planned to watch something together afterward, but she seemed pretty tired and wanted to relax at home, so we decided to go back together to the Airbnb room.
I rode on the back of her bike and we swayed through the rain on the way home. In that moment my mind was empty; it was a flow. I didn't have to think about anything—just being rocked by the bike on the way home. For my brain, for my heart, it was a wonderfully meditative time.
I thought this must be happening because she is someone I can feel safe with.
Bun bo Hue and a sweet night
After returning to the room we enjoyed a sweet time. She was on a video call with her best friend, and seeing her talk so much—something I don't usually see—revealed another side of her.
Going out at night felt a bit bothersome, so we ordered Bun bo Hue and ate it together. I thought a slow day like this is nice. It was that kind of sweet night.
