currently writing (or thinking about writing).
JAPAN
Japan, 2024
Dreaming about this since I can remember.
As a kid, teenager and adult, I always had the same dream. That kind of dream that you can’t describe. Neither you remember when, where and why it started. After 17 hours in two different airplanes, I looked into my window. I was sitting on the left side of the plane and, because I’d seen countless pictures of it from that angle, I knew it. Mount Fuji (富士山 Fuji-san) was there and I couldn’t find the right words to speak. Or any word. From that moment I felt at peace. And for twenty days that peace melted into hapiness and love and peace again.
I walked infinite hours across all neighborhoods in Tokyo. The same passion, the exact same flame I always felt from just looking at pictures or watching movies, I felt there. In person. And, honestly, I was no longer interested to understand the “why”. It never mattered. When I look back and remember those 7 days in this unique city, I don’t feel the need to tell these story. So, it says it all. From there, Fujiyoshida showed that the Fuji-san couldn’t fit in a single frame and the timid wind slowly touching the cherry blossom trees made me realize this was more real that it was seeing through my eyes. Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima are all in my heart. In Miyajima I thanked for being too lucky, just because this was all happening. At the second day visiting Kiyomizu-dera I cried. But those tears were not from sadness or happiness.
I cried because I was finally watching all the unspeakable beauty with my eyes. On the flight back home I realized that, maybe, I have something that is very rare: I am lucky enough to feel that I have achieved one of my dreams.