WINTER'S NIGHTFALL

Four-thirty and already dark. The last of the light is gone off the treeline and whoever's still outside is finishing up by feel. Somebody's burning brush at the far end of the property — you can't see it, but you know it's there. Coat's not warm enough. It'll do. Black Tie — Frozen mandarin, aldehydic air, velvet suede, ambered benzoin. Cold at first, then plush. Barn — Arctic mint, frankincense resin, guaiacwood, dark woods, smoky moss. Smoke, damp bark, and everything under the trees.