During the early days of the 2020 lockdown, I began taking long walks as a way to escape the oppressive heat of Monterrey and find a moment of clarity. What started as a practical routine became an unexpected portal into memory, as vivid flashbacks surfaced—some long forgotten, others deliberately buried. Walking past familiar landmarks—my first school, the church, quiet porches shaded by trees—I experienced a strange blend of recognition and renewal. In the unassuming rhythm of the city, I found beauty and solace in the ordinary. After years of constant motion and digital saturation, this routine grounded me, revealing how memory, place, and presence quietly intertwine. Though I was alone during those walks, I was part of a shared global stillness where, as I later learned, many experienced similar returns to the past.
