As she picks him up, he's flooded with her scent and a dim memory of his other world -- the place where his body floated and he first recognized the scent that's hers alone. But now, two weeks after birth, he's in a vast, dry place called home. She brings him close to nurse and he roots with his mouth, guided in part by the smell of colostrum and the smell from the scent glands on her nipples. Her scent links him to everything he craves: food, warmth, touch. He latches on and the sweetness of the liquid is vaguely reminiscent of the smell and taste of amniotic fluid -- both are affected by his mother's diet. Already, sweet is his favorite taste.
