Where the sun kisses the evergreens

by José Gabriel Tavares (Brazil)

I didn't expect to find Canada

The sun had made the snow melt superficially in the morning. But when the afternoon's gentle light came, tiny crystals brightened up my day. The sound of the echoed through the town as I decided to explore the place. Far from the bright Toronto and the beautiful London, there's Clinton, one of the most charming places I have ever visited. Its old churches and schools with all of their plain red bricks, the stunning library, the characteristic Tim Hortons seen all through Canada, everything seemed it was planned to be just comforting. It is the kind of place you would imagine raising a family and settling down. Though living there for five months already, every walk I took, gave me another beautiful spot to keep my heart warm in the chilly winter. In one of my little explorations I found a pond. It would've been nothing special for most people. But I stood in front of it, looking around and to all of the details. The evergreens in the background. The thin ice painted with the warm orange from sky. The field that in another occasion would be filled with the typical corn crops. It is a view I keep in my heart, so I can go back to that place from time to time, and feel the same as I felt in that moment. I went back multiple times to make sure I wouldn't forget that image. Although it is not what you could call a touristic point, that spot is unique and special, at least to me.