Unchaned

The school bell had already rung for the second time while Jonas was still on his way to the gym. Hurry up now, man. The full gym bag banged against his legs with every step and didn't make walking any easier. If he was late, he'd get another scolding from Schmidt, and that would be the second one this week. He'd already gotten one in bio. Jonas hates bio.
But he'll just make it. Today is gymnastics on the parallel bars. Well, that's okay. With his good coordination and suppleness no problem for him. Jonas was already thinking about Leonie. Guitar lesson at 4 pm, like every Wednesday. Today he was finally going to get it. Smoke on the Water. Last week the chords didn't fit yet and Leonie said in her always friendly way: "Oh, that doesn't matter. It's probably too early for you". Ha, my ass. Leonie, the daughter of good acquaintances of his parents, who had only been teaching him for a short time. Dad had given him his Old Fender for his 12th birthday and Jonas was as proud as punch. "But you have to start practicing now. Otherwise it won't work," Dad said.
Leonie, 5 years older than him. With her long blonde hair and water blue eyes. And that soft voice. And she always smells so good. A delicate, unobtrusive scent. A bit like the powder Mum uses sometimes.
Anyway, he couldn't let last week's setback stand. All the previous weekend he'd been practicing, even his parents were wondering. And today he would bring it. For sure. Just a quick trip home and a quick repetition of the holds. Leonie would make eyes!
After the sports lesson everything has to go fast. Showering must be cancelled this time, the time is otherwise too short. While most of his classmates hop under the showers, he nestles a small vial out of his backpack. 'Sir Irish Moss' he reads on the label. Mum had pulled a basket of old perfume samples and mini vials from a back cupboard corner the other day and sorted some out. "Here, this is something for boys, why don't you try it?" she'd said to him, handing him 2 mini bottles, this one and another whose name he hadn't even bothered to remember. He had accepted them indifferently for her sake, what was he supposed to do with the stuff.
But he had still packed this little bottle into his small backpack bag in the morning. It was Leonie day after all, maybe it could still be used.
Impatiently, he now tears off the small cap. He smells briefly at the opening. Hm... not bad, somehow fresh. Now what? How do you get the liquid out of it? The only way is to pour it. With awkward movements Jonas spills the scent on his shirt and on his neck up to his shoulders. Immediately, an alcoholic plume spreads, closely followed by the herbaceous, green and tart top note. Ow, all of them already. The cloud expands. And, of course, does not go undetected in the cramped locker room. Paul, the class clown, spotted it first, of course. "Huh," what's that smell... oohh, his eyes round, "the Jonas takes perfume-üm, the Jonas takes perfume-üm. The Jonas has what vo-hor, the Jonas has what vo-hor." He sounds off in a shrill voice, jumping around the locker room like a monkey. "Ey, Mr. Jones, you smell correct like my old man," comes from Mustafa, who is a little older than the others and even has his voice breaking.

Meanwhile, the EdT has thickened. The initial fresh, herbaceous notes are joined by warmer ones that also contribute a touch of sweetness. A little rose geranium and the warming carnation gently cushion the scent and wrapped in a softly spicy-fresh cloud, Jonas steps out onto the street. It's only a few yards to the bus stop. He steers obliviously towards it while wondering what the scent reminds him of. Ah yes, grandma's campsite... a little way down the meadow runs a small stream. How many times has he played there in the summer when they visited grandma at the campground. The air there always smells so special, too. Of all kinds of green that grows there, partly in the shade of the trees. And of water running over moss-covered stones. Fresh and also a bit earthy, a deep aromatic scent,. I wonder if that's where they get it Or from another stream and then just bottle it? But it's got some of that herbal schnapps in it that Grandma often offers her visitors. Hence the smell of alcohol at first. Yeah, that's kind of how it has to be, Jonas decides.

His excitement has subsided. A relaxed mood slowly brightens his mind. Yeah, that Leonie girl. She's cool - but not that cool, he thinks, straightening his shoulders and raising his chin a little. After all, I'm pretty cool myself. Just then the bus turns the corner and stops. Today everything will go great, he thinks and gets on

She has already endured everything in her long life. The last great drought, all the dry seasons before that, the seemingly endless search for a redeeming waterhole. Many kilometres under the mercilessly scorching sun. Always fearing for the little ones, wondering if they would make it. Few, dried leaves and branches, hardly anything else, just enough to survive. And always on guard against attacking, devious hyenas, eventually even the predators dare to come out, driven by the same need. Steadfast, they have always defended their herd.

Ever larger parts of their territory are processed by humans agriculturally, made fertile and the food reservoir of the elephants dwindles away. Therefore they come more and more often into conflicts with humans. They have had to save themselves from many villagers who drove them away from their barren, painstakingly fertile fields with spears and firearms. But they also just want to survive.

But worst of all are the poachers. Who cowardly hunt them under cover of darkness, even rushing them with helicopters to the point of absolute panic and then cruelly assassinating them, just for their tusks. Thus they have also lost their guiding cow, who for many years guided them safely through the steppe and forest with her ancient knowledge. How many massacres has she narrowly survived. She can never forget the horrible images. They have wandered in the night, their anguished, agonized screams panicking even the great predators. A wake-up call echoing through the darkness, desperate for help. All of it burned into her soul, forever shrouding her wise eyes with a dark veil.

Yet they live for their community, are loving and full of empathy for the other animals in their herd. One for all, all for one. They grow into this pledge of allegiance as they build their social skills and become a full member of their community.

The dust kicked up by their powerful legs. The smells of the vegetation. The peeled barks of trees, the juicy exotic fruits, the sultry aroma of the forests. And their tanned skin that needs and loves sun, dust, water and mud baths. Lastly, the wind that combines all these flavors, carrying them with it, across the steppe, across the vast land, and a little further. Before, at last, the long-awaited rain sets in.

All this is in this bottle, with the elephant closure.
Yes, and more... a conglomerate of strong spicy aromas and fruits, sweetly heavy florals... and a deep balsamic base. Truly, a fragrance for an elephant, one might think. But of course, it's also a fragrance for all lovers of this scent. And it is a great fragrance. Whether you like him or rather not.

Our elephant cow hesitates for a moment before taking the lead and leading her family to the next promising feeding spot. She's memorized that one before.

We look once again into those beautiful eyes, so deep and warm, full of strength and courage. And full of sensitivity and vulnerability.
They say, "Here I am. Where I step is my country. For us. Forever.


Kenzo Takada, I bow to you and your masterpiece. R.I.P. !.