This week, Mika Stone describes the moment when a simple smell unlocks memories of a world you are no longer a part of. As TCKs and CCKs, our experiences come from all over the world, but our senses still remember, and the moment it catches a whiff of something familiar, it doesn’t matter where we are, we can be transported right back to the place where our memories are strongest. In this poem, Mika brings us on the journey from contentment to memory to homesickness.
"Bar Soap" By Mika Stone There’s a layer of snow on the ground. Breathless, fresh and pure, beautiful. In my home, the heat is humming, but it’s still so cold I’m tiptoeing around the house even in my warmest of socks. The day gets done with books and blanket nests on the sofa. It’s cozy and– for a moment– this is where I am. It’s all I need to be. Evening falls, and it’s time to clean the day’s dirt of paper cuts and soup spills. I step into the shower’s heat and humidity and lather myself with a bar soap my mother left. The scent sinks into my skin, settles in my memories and now I am In a white tiled shower, escaping the heat and humidity, pouring cool water from a faded red bucket, washing away sweat and bar soap suds. In soft waves, melodies of people singing mid-day karaoke drift through the window. The steady beating of riverside laundry completes the song. There’s a layer of snow on the ground. I leave the shower sanctuary. My skin is warm now, but the cold threatens. Bar soap scents mingle with the frigid air. There’s a layer of snow on the ground. Silent, breathless, empty. And all I want to do is scrub this bar soap scent from my skin.
Mika Stone is an MK who grew up in the Philippines. She realized her love for writing in college when she took a writing class and found that storytelling is her favorite form of communication. In 2024, she graduated from Sterling College with her degree in Writing and Editing. She currently works as the Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach at Sterling College, and serves as the Among Worlds Intern.
