Where the heart lives

by Danielle Pereira (Brazil)

Making a local connection USA

There's a place that I visited, where the sky is always foggy and the streets are hills. This place is often remembered by the Golden Gate Bridge, but I would say that real beauty isn't in the obvious places. My window was in front of Albion street, which is the oldest one in San Francisco. I remember that I used to wake up very early and, despite that, felt more rested than nowadays. Sometimes I close my eyes and pretend that I'm still there and nothing has changed. I can see the Dolores Park. The picnic blanket is on the grass, surrounded by friends smiling back to me. I can see the Crepe House on Valencia Street, where I and my closest friend used to have lunch at the weekends, sharing thoughts, stories, fears, and joys. I miss the Monastery, the building that we used to live, so badly. I can see the table where we used to have our meals. We're still there, laughing, talking, knowing each other and being young. Just chilling all through the night. It was a feeling like nobody in the history of the world has ever been this close, has ever loved so fiercely, laughed as hard and cared so much. I can see us in the rooftop, singing songs in Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish and English, like all the languages were just one and all the cultural differences don't matter anymore. We're heating marshmallows in the fire. We're waiting for the barbecue to be ready. Living that moment as the time would never up. It's funny to think that, in this very moment, there's a bunch of outsiders there living the time of their lives, as we did. There are no words to describe how much I'm homesick for every corner of this place… From the weekends hanging out at Pier 39 to the picnics at Lands End. Of the movies at Metreon's cinema, the walks on Market Street and the nights at the Bluelight. I miss the people, the energy. But I guess the thing I miss the most is how all those things would make me feel so fearless, bold and confident. There's a place that I would like to visit again, where the cable car is always moving and the carousel keeps on turning. Where the bridges are more important than walls. Where life is simple and deep at the same time. Where the heart lives and refuses to go away.