One Heavenly Squirt

The Dragon Hill Lodge is a dingy place with the usual amenities. The instant coffees taste, as usual, like a mixture of earth and seawater. The toothbrush I am afraid to touch, I brought my own instead. But the little serving of shampoo in the unlabeled bottle was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

Standing there in the grimy shower, lukewarm water spitting out and trickling down my shivering sides, I open the bottle and am transported to bliss. The sweet fragrance of peonies and orange blossoms fills my nostrils and overwhelms me. One squirt and the bottle is empty, but that one squirt carries eternity within it. As my fingers knead my hair and the cool suds build up, the intoxication builds to breaking. The light drizzles of steam bathe me in sweet-smelling glory.

Best shower ever. I am never using Pantene again.