Grandma's Kitchen Smell

Ben opens a small jar in his new flat.

A warm smell fills the room at once.

It is dried orange peel from his grandma's kitchen.

When he was little, she always put it in soup.

Now Ben lives far away, in a cold city.

He misses her cooking every day.

So he cooks the same soup tonight, following her old recipe.

The kitchen smells like home again.

Ben smiles and calls his grandma.

She laughs and says, "Add a little more peel next time!" After dinner, Ben takes a photo of the soup and sends it to his grandma.

She sends back a voice message.

In it, she tells him how to grow oranges in a pot.

Ben writes her words down in a small notebook.

Next week, he will buy a young tree for his balcony.

In a few years, he can pick his own fruit.

Then the soup will taste even more like home.