Jasmine’s Nostalgic Whiff Teodorico Magda teodoricomagda@yahoo.com Jasmine or Sampaguita,
as it is called in native language, is the Philippine national flower. It has a unique smell that addles the mind and softens the heart. As I smelled some Sampaguita leis, they flashed back the
memory of my yesteryears with near reality.—my boyhood. And there came the memory of myself playing in a garden filled with those rambling and semi-climbing shrubs of Jasmine. I reminisced how I strung the delicately white, star-like flowers into garlands to my delight. This instance gave me much pleasure just because of the Sampaguita scent. To me, that
nostalgic whiff aroused the part of my conscious mind with the memories that associate them with the long-distant past.