When I was younger, my mom would put Vivaporu on my chest before going to bed in order to clear my breathing. She would put some over my lip, just to make sure. And I'd fall asleep like that, my chest feeling like a glacier had crawled across it, it's overwhelming scent overtaking me.
Every winter, every cold and flu, it was the same thing, the same process, she would tuck me in but, before turning off the light, she'd whip out that inimitable blue jar. I only knew it as Vivaporu.
One day, around the age of ten, I was looking through my mom's closet (I was a really curious kid) when I found that bar; midnight blue body with an aquamarine top and took a good look at the label: Vick's Vapor Rub. I couldn't believe it, why did my mom call it Vivaporu, that made no sense. Until, it did.
