Volver p(a)ra soltar

"Volver p(a)ra soltar" It's an essay that deals with the void left by losing a home. That one unique space on earth to which I always felt I could return to.

Leaving home by your own will it's different from migrating. Migrating feels like a tearing away from home and, at the same time an opportunity to rebuild it, even if it never feels the same.

Recently, I had to return to my home for the first time, but to say goodbye. I arrived to a bed without a pillows, a living room full of boxes, and what used to be a (my) bedroom. Seeing myself as an adult in this space, surrounded by the walls that watched me grow, I decided to immortalize the little that remained of my presence there. The little that still felt like home.

I understood that returning to Venezuela will always feel like a farewell because there is less and less of me in that place, and although the uncertainty of starting over haunts me every night, I know now there's no going back.