Without knowing how or when I got here, I find myself walking through the trees at sunrise. Having no compass but the tingling sensations in my feet and a gentle tugging of the heart, I follow a call of the spirit to places unknown yet somehow familiar. Were I to cull enough energy from these surroundings to bottle the light peeking through the canopy, it might look (and smell) like Hacivat, a Chypre fragrance from the Turkish house of Nishane.

At first spritz, it slices thickly into top notes of bergamot, pineapple, and grapefruit. Although this embrace of citrus sweetness is juicy and sensual, it is far from hedonistic. Rather, it practices restraint to appreciate its surroundings without getting distracted by them—not blind romanticism but a blush of self-awareness and faith in boundaries. In this kiss, there is no hidden agenda. It is naked without being profane, vulnerable without being weak.

With a fuller spray and time to develop this newfound relationship, heart notes of jasmine, patchouli, and cedarwood emerge as woodland creatures from their dens. Here, the warmth comes through, poised as if on the brink of a newfound love. The colors shift in the manner of a shadow play, each figure expressing more than the sum of its parts in a parable of mischief. In the absence of water, it drinks in the promise of another day.

As the journey continues, base notes of clearwood, oakmoss, and dry timberwood remind me that no matter how far I may travel, home is never far away as long as I have my body. Even in the face of deterioration, it whispers of the future.

Nearly 12 hours later, despite finding those comforts where I’ve staked my life, traces linger in whiffs of timber, ancient and covert.

This is reality, condensed and extracted.