Fly Away, Home

Paris, Summer 2014, outside the cathedral of Notre Dame

It seems so long since I felt that any place was home, but when I arrived in Europe this summer, I felt that aching sense of belonging.  It was that first moment, when I saw the mountain ranges outside of Madrid, through the window of the plane, that made me gasp. With my hand on my chest, I took it all in- the rich color, a pile of ground coffee, so far below, and yet piled so high, I imagined myself immersed in them, the scent comforting, like cafe con leche in the Plaza Santa Ana on an autumn day.