Under the Mango Tree: 101 Tales (5)

BAT CAVE TREASURE

Challenge No.95 - Fragrance Notes

Look at the description of the scent of a bottle of perfume or cologne. What notes does the maker list? Include each of these words in a scene or story. For example, if a fragrance is described as smelling like black truffle, orchid, and plum, your story might include a black cat, a garden, and plums for breakfast.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

I chose DS 88 POUR HOMME

Top Note: Bergamot, Mandarin, Lily of the Valley

Heart Note: Dry Amber, Patchouli

Base Note: Amber, Musk

This gave me the words Lilly, Amber, dry, musk

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Lily was following Amber because Amber had the map and that wasn't necessarily a good thing, but Amber had found the map, so here they were - lost.

The two sisters now sat on a rock studying the scrap of paper. "We're lost," Lily stated.

"I believe in dad's philosophy on being lost," Amber replied.

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. One cannot get lost in Saint Lucia..."

"Just don't know where we are at the moment!" They chorused and laughed.

"I must admit, if I'm to not be lost, then this is a nice place to do it." Lily conceded.

"Well, home is always the best place to be." Amber was still studying the map.

"At times like this, you can really understand the nickname Helen of the West. Even now despite all the nonsense we humans do. There are still places like this." Lily waved her arm at the view.

She turned to her sister. "Where'd you say you got that treasure map?"

"Amongst dad's papers."

"Amidst dad's dry dusty papers?" Lily chuckled.

"Amidst dad's dry dusty papers," Amber confirmed.

"So, I'm out here with you on one of dad's wild goose chases!"

"Dad spoke about this all the time!"

"Dad was a kook and so are you and I'm the worst of the bunch for following you out here."

"I think it's this way." Amber headed off.

With a heavy sign, Lily followed. "This place is familiar. Are we going to the Bat Cave?"

"I don't know. I'm just following the map."

"Well if you'd let me have a peep at it, I could have saved us a lot of time and trouble."

"You know it?"

"You don't?"

"No. How come you do?"

"I suppose it's because when growing up, you'd rather stay inside while I beat about the place. I mean look at our careers. You're an IT Specialist, I'm a Zoologist. One inside and the other outside."

"Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for, except the hoarding of the map. Come on. Now I lead."

With Lily leading it didn't take long to reach the cave. "The bat cave." She announced upon their arrival. "No gold though, if that's what you had in mind."

"I don't understand. Dad said it was a gold mine."

"Nope. Lots of guano though. There have to be over a thousand years of that in there. You can take the musk smell all the way out here."

"That's it! Literally a pile of shit!" Amber was not impressed.

"Guano." Lily corrected.

"Guano by any other name smells the same."

"It's manure, and a highly effective fertilizer due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. All key nutrients essential for plant growth. It's also used in the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials."

Lily paused.

"What?" Amber demanded.

"It depends on how one defines 'gold mine'; we could set up production and harvest the guano. Done right it'll never run out. Millions of bats live there."

"Turning shit into gold."

They grinned.

© 3 June 2022