THE SCENT THAT FOUND ME Verse 1 Every morning by the window, I read the tales I used to know, Of crimson hair and silver oceans, Of secret worlds beneath the foam. Not because I still believed them, Not because I thought them true, I was searching through their pages For the child I once knew. Pre-Chorus I laughed and said, “No scent on earth Could make a tired heart believe.” Then something moved across the room Like summer passing through the leaves. Chorus And the scent found me, Across the years, across the dark, Through all the doors that time had closed, It walked straight into my heart. And suddenly I was a child, And suddenly she was near— Some people leave this world forever, But their fragrance lingers here. Oh, the scent found me, When I thought nothing could. Verse 2 There was no mermaid on the shoreline, No sailor drowning in her spell, Just a quiet little room And a perfume I remembered well. Then I saw my mother standing Where the morning touched the floor, With the eyes that used to know me Before I learned to close the door. She looked at me without a word, As mothers somehow always do, As if to ask, “How long will you Keep hiding from the life in you?” Chorus And the scent found me, Across the years, across the dark, Through all the doors that time had closed, It walked straight into my heart. And suddenly I was a child, And suddenly she was near— Some people leave this world forever, But their fragrance lingers here. Oh, the scent found me, When I thought nothing could. Verse 3 I reached my hand to touch her fingers, But memory is made of air; The chair beside me stood there empty, Still I knew that she was there. And the perfume stayed behind her Like a candle after prayer, A little proof that love can linger Long after no one’s standing there. Then I looked down at the story, At the mermaid and the sea, And understood the spell was never What I thought that it would be. Bridge Maybe magic isn't magic, Maybe ghosts don't need a name, Maybe childhood never leaves us— We just learn to hide its flame. Maybe every fairy story Is a window left ajar, Where the ones we thought we'd lost Can still remember where we are. And if growing old means losing Every wonder that we knew, Then give me one more foolish story— I have something left to lose. Final Chorus Let the scent find me, Across the years, across the dark, Let it open every room I've kept abandoned in my heart. Let me be that child again, If only for a little while, Let my mother cross the silence Just to leave me with her smile. No, the mermaid wasn't calling Lonely sailors from the blue— She was guarding one last wonder That the years had carried through. So I'll keep reading those old stories While there's still a dream to save, For I'm not hiding from my age When I turn another page. Outro There are things that time can bury, There are things it cannot touch. Sometimes all that's left of heaven Is remembering how it smelled. And if that scent should find me When the morning light comes through, I'll leave the window open... Mother, I'll remember you.i
