Katherine Nicolai

Take a deep breath in through your nose.

Let it out your mouth.

Nice.

One more.

Breathe in.

And out.

The Lilac Thief There are only a few days of the spring when you can step out of the door and smell them on every passing breeze.

So bright and sweet that there's nothing to do but plant your feet.

and take slow, deep breaths to try to store their scent deep inside you for another year.

The lilacs.

I remember as a child, pressing my face into their soft blooms, dew coming away on my cheeks, and wondering how something could smell like that.

and look like that, and grow so abundantly, and be allowed.

It seemed too good, too perfectly aligned with what was pleasing, to just occur naturally.

But I guess there is a catch with lilacs.

They only bloom once a year, and they don't last long.

In fact, they're best enjoyed on the tree.

When you cut them and bring them inside, they soon wilt and dry up, and their sweet smell fades.

Still, I couldn't help myself.

I would try to be surrounded by them for as long as possible each spring.

And that meant taking matters into my own hands and possibly some very gentle trespassing.