My favorite part of this dual-brain

My favorite part of this dual-brained dragon is our hostel because here I can close the door and lock Peru out. I feel like a tortoise who likes the inside of his shell a little too much. I prefer the hostel’s little courtyard to the entire city. Here unknown tropical flowers bloom, strange birds chirp and flit in the shadows, and a menagerie of little ceramic statues hide among the foliage: white Jesus in a brilliant blue robe holding a lamb, Mother Mary trying to pray but her hands have chipped away, and an angel with a mottled face where the paint has peeled. I feel secure here, inside the classically Peruvian white walls with a literal gate between me and the city.