And I couldn’t help but wonder, had this stand-offish Russian asylum seeker truly snuck past my defenses? Or was I just in two martinis too deep?

-Carrie Bradshaw if she were in this situation probably

I am glad that outside forces are pushing me to get uncomfortable. That's a lousy habit Wilson has, getting comfortable— or maybe it's a flaw that I see comfortability that way…

I think the worst part was leaving my sister. We'd already spent so many years apart. She'd moved to Virginia about two years prior. It felt like we were finally catching up on all the time we lost when I joined the military, and here I was again, leaving…

I didn’t want to leave. Of course, this is a normal feeling at the end of any vacation, but I couldn’t resign myself to the fact that this would just be a tiny excursion from my real life, something I would reflect on and milk the idea of for years to come. “That one time I went to Brazil…”

I could always be exactly who I was with her, and so could she. This is why I was excited to finally have a psychedelic experience with her. I'd managed to acquire a small amount of acid, and we made plans to go out in nature and be just as we were. Kids again for the day…

Kiana, Felipe, and I chose one of the plastic patio tables to sit at and planted ourselves against the lattice backs of the flimsy chairs, and prepare for an adventurous night…

We had to eat a quick breakfast because we woke up later than expected. Ilhabela was a four hour drive and we needed to get on the road soon. We had butter toast and eggs with our coffee and then packed our bags…

Maiharra took us to a barzinho in her neighborhood. The air was beginning to cool after the heat of the day as we plopped down into plastic patio chairs at a matching table on the street corner…