Anita Diament: "Di Mesir, saya menyukai parfum lotus. Seekor bunga aka...

"Di Mesir, saya menyukai parfum lotus. Seekor bunga akan mekar di kolam pada waktu fajar, mengisi seluruh taman dengan musk biru yang begitu kuat sehingga bahkan ikan dan bebek pun akan pingsan. Pada malam hari, bunga itu mungkin layu tetapi parfumnya bertahan lama. Lebih redup dan redup, tetapi tidak pernah benar-benar hilang. Bahkan berhari-hari kemudian, lotus tetap berada di taman. Berbulan-bulan akan berlalu dan seekor lebah akan turun di dekat tempat teratai telah mekar, dan esensinya dilepaskan lagi, sesaat tetapi tidak dapat disangkal."

--- Anita Diament

Versi Bahasa Inggris

In Egypt, I loved the perfume of the lotus. A flower would bloom in the pool at dawn, filling the entire garden with a blue musk so powerful it seemed that even the fish and ducks would swoon. By night, the flower might wither but the perfume lasted. Fainter and fainter, but never quite gone. Even many days later, the lotus remained in the garden. Months would pass and a bee would alight near the spot where the lotus had blossomed, and its essence was released again, momentary but undeniable.