SADE

Mrs. Valee didn’t step away from the microphone after saying those words. Instead, she stayed right there on the stage, holding that vial like it weighed something more than glass and liquid, and when she looked at me again, her eyes were fixed on my face like she was trying to read my past just by standing close to my work.

“I need to say something else,” she continued, her voice steady but emotional in a way that made the room go quiet again, “because scents like this don’t ...