Scent Stories: Candy

I will always hold dear the memory of my little girl running down the staircase of our rather small house somewhere in the city as she heard the front door unlock. "Daddy! Daddy!" she would scream and her tiny arms would wrap themselves around my leg and hold on tight as if willing me to never go to work again. I would pick her up and throw her up in the air a few times and tickle her till she squealed, her mouth open in laughter displaying her missing front tooth. My wife would always be closely behind her, cautioning her not to run down the steps but she never listened and each day at 7pm, my baby girl ran down the staircase and into my arms.

I was her world, her superhero called "Daddy" who could lift her in the air and throw her up, high enough that she could fly and catch herself a shining star. Even when she was way too big to be lifted up high she would still run down the stairs everyday for a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug. It became our own daily ritual, the same way my wife and I often drank coffee together in the mornings before I set off and she stayed home. My daughter and I would meet at the front door and share a hug and fill each other in on our days until my wife called for dinner. The stories I heard evolved from best friends at nursery to difficult subjects and sometimes even crushes and boyfriends. She was the centre of my world; bright and bubbly with infectious laughter she got from her mum.

They say you never notice the hours turning into days turning into years and I must admit that it's true because although I always noticed the time passing by and I noticed her getting bigger and heavier, I never noticed my daughter turning into the beautiful young lady she is now. So now as she squeezes her arm tightly against mine as we walk into the grand cathedral, I cannot help but tear up but I don't let the tears fall. I try to look at her to see if she’s transformed. Perhaps her mousy brown hair has all of a sudden turned blonde, or the beauty spot above her left eye has disappeared. We reach the altar where my son-in-law to be stands and waits for his bride and I look into my daughter’s face and see it has changed, the once chubby cheeks have now transformed into contoured lines but it has also remain the same, her eyes are still the brightest shade of blue. She mouths to me “I love you Daddy” as she releases my hand but all I can see through my silent tears are the Candy-coloured petals of the flowers in the bouquet she's holding.