Here the Whole Time

by Vitor Martins

You know when you sleep outside your regular hours and wake up totally lost, not knowing what time it is, where you are, or what happened in the world in the meantime? Yeah, that.

When you declare something, even if it’s obvious to everyone already, it becomes real.

And so, to break the silence, I tell the truth. Because those who tell the truth open the path for good things to happen. I think my mom said that once. Or maybe it was Dumbledore.

Being thin is not a prize you win in the lottery of life that guarantees eternal happiness.

To fight for the right to walk down the street without being attacked for the color of your skin.’

it occurs to me that if the word beautiful had a million different meanings … Caio would be all of them.

I’ve always been so busy trying to avoid being unhappy that I never found a way to be happy.

I like the pool. For a long time, I pretended I didn’t, because I was ashamed of my body. But tonight, floating next to Caio and looking up at the moon above us, I understand what makes me happy when I’m in the water. When I’m here, I feel weightless.