I was walking along the streets of Rio de Janeiro during the Christmas holidays. At that moment, it dawned on me that my gaze was hazed by a longing of a sense of home. As I was walking, I imagined a woman; and she started walking on the streets while everyone stared at her with shifty eyes. She stared back at me, and she turned into a scent.
While walking back home, I remembered the woman I made out of my country. The first time I saw her, she was exhausted, but with hands extended.
In those moments, these two women met inside of me, and their stories might be far from each other. But these women have endured, and their stories deserve a space.
Meet Siya, Sila.