October under the roofs
It was October, in Paris, in a student room with yellowed wallpaper, somewhere in the 5th arrondissement. They were both in modern literature, sitting on the floor on an old floral rug, between piles of dog-eared Folio books, fluorescent highlighters, and a record player plugged into small, crackling speakers. Their favorite song, "Caramel »by Suzanne Vega was playing on repeat.
Midterms were approaching, but time seemed to drag. They reviewed their coursework in hushed voices, exchanged wry smiles, and shared a cup of black tea brewed in a chipped old teapot. The caramel hung in the air, sweet and reassuring, like an oversized sweater borrowed from the other. Nothing extraordinary. Just the simple magic of an afternoon of studying together.
Whispers and dissertations
With each sip, memories are awakened. The caramel evokes the soft candies we bought after leaving the library, the impromptu snacks with sliced bread and jam, and the evenings when we copied our index cards by hand, for lack of a printer.Black tea, deep and enveloping, recalls the silent hours spent side by side, between two dissertations on Racine or Barthes. And always, that music, in the background: Suzanne Vega, The Cranberries, a hint of Portishead. No Wi-Fi, no distractions, just the murmur of hot tea and dreams of literature. There's no rush. Everything is there. The 20th century slowly drawing to a close.
A promise of sweetness, transmitted without noise
Today, they still live in Paris. They're married, a little less bohemian, a little more organized, but in their kitchen, among the tea tins lined up on the shelf, there's still the one from Caramel. Every morning, they prepare a pot of it, the same recipe, the same aroma, which their children now recognize asTHEtaste of family breakfast.
Between toast, schoolbags to pack, and hair to style, they share this sweet ritual, this legacy of their twenties. A sip, a knowing glance, and everything comes back: dreams of letters, pages read aloud, timid beginnings and hazy tomorrows.
