Mogi das Cruzes, 1994

I’m 7 years old, my bicycle probably the same age. I have a long downhill ahead, and then an even longer uphill to climb. I look around, no cars, a few people, I push the bike, it screeches, it goes like a rocket, no idea how fast I am going, but it’s fast. There’s a small hump at the bottom of the hill, my bike screeches even louder, my stomach screams, my eyes are so focused I can feel my pupils getting dilated, the impact with the hump makes me fly, it feels like slow motion, maybe a second of two in the air, then an amazing landing, still very fast, enough to go uphill in the other side, I push two or three times more and I’m at the top!

From the top, I can see the orange sky, the mountains surrounding my home town, the skyline of the city. I feel like a king arriving with soldiers, conquering a new land. Buildings and more buildings in the skyline, people starting to light up their living rooms, it’s winter and I feel the cold breeze.

I cycle a bit more, every weekend I learn a bit more about the city, a new area to explore, new people to see, to meet, new things to do.

I stop to breathe, the sun is setting, half of the sky is dark blue and I call it a day. One day I will explore even bigger skylines. One day.

New York, 2019

I’m 31 years old, I land in JFK. It’s 7 pm. Immigration has no queues, I get my passport from my bag. The officer has kind eyes, he asks what I’m planning to do in New York. “Just travelling”, I reply. He stamps my passport and smiles. This is my first time in New York. Definitely one of my biggest dreams is coming true today. I’m finally here.

For sure I was a New Yorker in another life, I think. There’s a long walk to get my suitcase, but I can see it at the far end of the room. I get it, the American accent is everywhere, and I already feel I will probably incorporate it into mine. I laugh. I then realise it’d take around 2 hours to get to the hostel in Manhattan by train, a friend of mine is waiting for me and I’m carrying a suitcase, so I decide to call a Lyft.

The car arrives, it’s so big, the driver is probably Asian, his accent is strong. The trip would take an hour, there’s traffic, I sleep a bit. I wake up near Sunnyside and we are going to cross the bridge soon.

The sun is setting, half of the sky is dark blue and I can finally see Manhattan. I will never forget this moment, the sea of buildings, the grandiosity of things.

I arrive at the hostel, drop my things, meet my friend, we go for a walk. We end up going inside a building to get to a rooftop bar, the bar is on the 65th floor, the lift takes us there so fast I feel sick.

When I arrive at the bar I can see the Empire State Building, it’s cloudy. The skyline of the city is amazing.

And then I think, one day I will explore even bigger skylines. One day.