Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

by Jonny Garza Villa

I ask you to do me a favor and check in with yourself before starting. And I want you to know that it’s okay if you’re not ready for this book yet. It’s okay if you never are. No hard feelings. Te lo prometo y te quiero.

But what I need most Mat can’t give me. Because he isn’t here. I need a comfort that I imagine can only come from being embraced, kissed, and told that nothing else in this world—outside this room—matters. But that all seems so tragically unattainable.

“I wish you had someone there too. I don’t know what it is to be without another queer person around, but I do know what it feels like to be lonely. Even when I’m surrounded by people who care for me. And I know what it is to feel that way because I’m gay. I

you should have someone who doesn’t mind if you’re messy, and who will make you feel safe against all the things that keep you awake. Who will take on the world with you, hand in hand. And who, every time we hug, will remind you that this—us—was meant to be.”