"I'm Luli." She flicked her cigarette, and smiled up from her seat on the threshold. "I just got in from Argentina. I'm going to be in Madrid for a few days, before heading to Barcelona. I'm a student, taking a semester off to travel. Master's degree in literature." That information, coupled with the septum piercing, and shaved head, let me know we were on the same team. I found a freak, like me.
I drew the conversation to my own story, then asked if she wanted to drop acid with me. A shy look down, then back at me, trying to determine if I was trustworthy. "Yes. But, tomorrow after the free walking tour." We made plans to meet for breakfast, attend the tour, then drop, and figure out where to go from there.
The hostel breakfast included Frosted Flakes with warm milk, watered down OJ, and potable coffee. On our way to Plaza Mayor, we discussed possible tripping destinations. We had come up with art museums and parks as the best way to make use of the day. The tour was split into Spanish and English speakers. We went our separate ways for that part of the day and enjoyed a look at the major tourist attractions. Cathedrals, history lessons, protesters, restaurants, and attempts to sell paid tours.
The spot we stopped to drop.
The tour ended in front of the palace at 1pm. We walked to a nearby park with low foot traffic. I demonstrated the nasal spray bottle. She took the same dose as me without hesitation. She's shaking. She notices me noticing. "I'm just excited!" This chick is badass. A quick picture to commemorate the spot we dropped and we head to another park. THE park. The most glorious park I've had the privilege to witness. If angels fucked artists, and they gave birth to landscapers, this is the park they would create. Parque de El Retiro.
This place is massive. We buy some water near the entrance and start walking straight ahead. In a few minutes, we can't hear the sounds of the city anymore. The crackle of the LSD found the branching tributaries of the nerves in my jaw. We find our chill spot. Shaded by several trees, a good view of the sky, perched on a tiny hill, and a main path in front of us. I give her an earbud and turn on Tove Lo, searching for that moment in the Tangier spice market. It brightens my reality, but doesn't hit me with the same force. I think my tolerance has caught up with me. I should be peaking. I take two more sprays, swearing to myself that I'll chill out for a bit after this one.
I give her control of the music. She laughs when she crosses Shakira, on her way up to Nirvana. I'd never listened to them on drugs before. This realization strikes me as incredibly odd. We spend the next however long, listening to music and watching the clouds. I've also never dosed so early in the day before. It's a calmer experience. Instead of frenetic conversations and darting glances, it's mindfulness, awareness. I don't know how long we were there. It didn't matter. I was more at peace in those moments than I had ever been. I had turned up the signal without the noise. I wasn't missing the fine detail by living too loud.
Stopping to smell the roses.
Some hours later, our water was too warm to be of any use. We brushed the debris from each other's backs, then aimed ourselves at a public fountain. I splashed a little on my face, then cupped two hands to pour it over my neck, then my head. Both of us, practically bathing in public. I had a moment of clarity, and realized what I must look like. It was too hot to give a shit. I looked both of us up and down. Covered in dirt and bits of leaves, soaked from head to waist, pupils like a harvest moon. Dirty hippies.
We walked toward a crowd of people, down a long path lined with trees, that lead to an impressive row of columns and statues. The platform that held the structure breaks into a large lake, filled with rowboats. I can't tell if the scene is so beautiful because of the drugs, or it's a magical place. Luli suggests that it's probably a little of both, but she can't be sure either. We watched the clouds dance over the lake, boys in boats showing off for girls, parents chasing children.
The stone steps were baked in the sun too long for us to enjoy the scene for any real, or imagined, length of time. We stood again, following the path around the columned monument. This time, we were drawn to a darker forest path. More shade was provided that any previous area we had explored. A single narrow path, dotted every hundred feet by wells, absent water, stretched and shrank ahead of us. The capillaries of the path, rounded and returned to the center. Walking through the double helix led us to a set of butterflies. These butterflies soared and bombed one another. I stopped with them a foot in front of me. Luli had missed them, I called her back. We stared at the game of tag they seemed to be playing. "What are they doing?" Luli asked. I shrugged. "Maybe they're fighting. Maybe they're fucking." Luli laughed. "Maybe it's both, it's always better when it's both." I raised an eyebrow and one corner of my mouth. She blushed and continued walking.
We found the edge of the park by continuing down the forest path. The sounds of traffic and commerce flooded our senses again. We thought it might be time to head to the art museum. Until we saw the line stretching around two city blocks, with no shade. We pointed out graffiti and street art vendors. "Good enough for me. Let's keep walking." We realized we were close to our hostel. Again, we took stock of our appearance. "Maybe we should get cleaned up," she said. I nodded, we walked home, got showered and reconvened after transforming back into people.
Luli needed a SIM card, so we went into a phone shop, expecting the process to be a simple check out. The gave her a number, made her wait on a different floor. Then, we had a trainee being shown the process of selling, installing, configuring, and updating a new phone on the the network. We were both shooting impatient glances and funny faces at the workers. We walked out and decided to find food. We settled on the restaurant directly outside the hostel door. After doing a load of laundry, we were ready. The food was fantastic, the conversation, even better. We had been vulnerable with a perfect stranger, learned a lot about them, and still liked them. She told me more about her plans for Barcelona, I promised I'd meet her again after I was done with Madrid. I felt like I made a lifelong friend in the span of one perfect day.