heady in the new summer air, the walk to school with the small child, breaking the branch, "here smell this, put your full face in the heady smell" the bloom larger than the small girl's head.

she swooned (was it her first?), she closed and then opened her eyes, the dark lashes pressed against the lids, her school uniform covered in petal, the rebellious perfume braided to her unruly hair.

"it reminds me of my other life."

"What other life?"

"the one I see in my mind sometimes, like a movie. it makes me dizzy."

it's true the first thought was perhaps to consult a doctor for the ailment, and then she said,

"in this life, the one we share, i don't know how i existed before you existed, but the lilacs have always been here, with or without us."

and, again, as usual, they arrived after the bell at school.