"The best thing I've ever read"

A love letter from Portugal

Olá,

To my surprise, I recently moved (again) to a new country. In the name of love this time. And felt as natural, rhythmic and inevitable as waves crashing on the shore. Each one arriving exactly when it should, while you just watch them peaceful come and go, relaxing every chaotic thought in your head. Like staring the way water returns to the ocean pulled by something older than stars. Like hearing how leaves catch the wind and whistle gentle songs without ever wondering if they should. And here I am, on a journey that somehow feels like I’ve been walking towards it my whole life.

July - 2025

I’ve written ferociously about it on private - pages and pages and pages - but all of it has been kept behind a curtain & shared only with her. There are words and parts of oneself that only emerge for another person. Like raízes (roots) - that don’t see the sunshine, yet build everything we see. It just makes our relationship so much more special -

this infinite tree we’ve been slowly growing since Spring in the hope that one day we can build a house up on the clouds.

But now, with a twist, I’ll write about it - with you (the readers) in mind.

So grab your tea if that’s your thing because I don’t want to keep all the fun just for Us.

Before I go further and deep into this story, I want to congratulate

carolina novo

. More than that, I want you to know how extraordinary she is. A few weeks ago, she won the Bolsas Literárias Penguin 2025. Nearly 400 applicants. And she beat them all. And by miles.

She is now writing a narrative fiction book for Penguin Random House!!!!

I can’t put into words how much She deserves this, how hard She has worked - or how much She has bled for it. Can’t wait to have her book in my hands and pour all of my support along the way, and as a the biggest fan-boy I am I will definitely be holding a big sign saying how much She rocks at the book launch. You better be ready :P

Her writing is hypnotizing. It drags you along and you can’t stop. You lose track of time. If you think you can’t read a long post because you lack attention, it’s only because you haven’t stumbled upon her work, yet. The tension she builds is so captivating you can’t look away.

She moves through this world with the wild grace of a Wolf & Her words breath, bite and burn - pacing back and forth through your chest.

They reflect that extraordinary intelligence, that view of a slow, Patient Hunt. Lethal only when she chooses to. And when she does, you’re never ready for it.

I am endlessly fascinated with everything she writes, not just with her published pieces but by her texts, the long letters we exchanged when I was still living in Spain, I cried like a child when I received them. And still do, when I re-read them.

She writes in Portuguese. But if you’re learning the language, or just curious about the next big contemporary writing rock-star, you should check her out. Trust me.

I remember when she first told me the Big News. I was already living here in Porto. It was a long long long week. Early, early mornings and workdays (for her) that stretched too far into the night, oh, and a survival test that involved building two pieces of IKEA furniture. But now the weekend was approaching and it was her sister’s birthday party and there was this elegant Friday September evening air surrounding us - the sky orange hue - carrying the sweetest message through the Atlantic winds all the way to her.

I wanted to scream, to cry and laugh all at the same time. I wanted to tell everyone. The seagulls, the moon, every stranger that passed by. Goosebumps in every inch of my body. An immense joy that was definitely better than winning the thing myself, way way way better.

I didn’t know what to say at first. I was shocked, electrified.

I picked her up, tried to get her closer to our Sol, not that she needs it to shine,

her light is brightest and all her own.

I swear, her smile always lifts my heart, but this time she made this sound, the cutest sound it launched me into the skies, out there between Nebula and Andromeda. The first time I’d ever heard it. It melted me away. I swear I live for it now. I’d cross entire oceans to hear it again, and she doesn’t even know it yet.

A few days after the news, we went to a local bookstore, we were browsing the shelves together, I said something like “your name is going to be here very very soon” and I couldn’t help but shout “she’s got a deal with Penguin!”. And the other day we were killing time before The Concert, getting tipsy with wine in an outside patio on a Wednesday, talking about dreams, love and what not, I had my analog camera in hand & this guy took a picture of us and then asked “so what do you guys do?” I took the stage and answer for her “Well, my Girlfriend is a Writer!!” Literally, I just want the whole world to know. And I won’t stop!

The first time we celebrated, and yes, there was a second because the first one felt too unreal to trust. It was one of the most magical nights of my life. Which every time, keeps getting better and better. It felt like being kids again, which is how we roll, with that endless playfulness adults forget they have. Put our imagination together in a room with a bottle of wine and you can bet, we go wild. Everything and anything is welcome on the table. (Sorry folks, but this is under the curtain.) When we finished the dinner, we were walking in a quiet street, Porto asleep, holding hands like we always do, even when there is no space side by side, they sit on top of her shoulder while I stay behind. And I asked “What do you think your friends will think if they saw us acting crazy like this?”

“That it just made sense that I found you”

It’s one of those impossible feelings to describe, no wonder there are whole industries in both cinema, music and literature that have tried, so I will give it a go;

If language comes from ancient symbols, symbols from patterns found in nature, and those patterns from the core of everything that makes this world, this universe, this everything, love stands right there. It is the first language, before words, before we had to name things, before there was a world and it flows through us like if there was no time, no one around and no one alive, just us.

Oh, and we met through Substack. So I want to thank the platform for existing. And for all you readers reading me, too.

There’s a lot I could say, and I don’t really know how to say all of it. She saved my life in so many ways. And there is plenty in me. So this is just the start;

There’s nothing as attractive as her mind. I’ve told her this before, many times over. The way it moves like Lightning deciding where to strike with questions that get you thinking way into the night. Conversations with her feel like wandering through a forest where every turn reveals another clearing, another space where light gloriously enters to a place you didn’t know existed. You don’t get bored of a mind like that. And you want to keep getting lost, over and over again. Talking to her is like finding out your brain has more rooms than you thought possible.

She is fierce, radiant and entirely herself. The kind of woman who could stare down the Devil until he apologizes. And I still can’t believe I’m holding her hand.

If relationships are, as someone once said, “a very long conversation,” then the real magic lies in how two people choose to listen. She knows when to stay silent, when to lean closer, how to be present, you can truly feel she’s giving you her full attention. The kind of intimacy no touch can replace, the kind that makes you feel seen all the way through. And all parts of you. Which is better than sex. Better than anything I know of.

We can talk for hours on end. Laugh until we lose our breath. Cry until words fail us. There’s nothing like sharing your Fears and Dreams with another human and protect them as if they were yours. Every day with her feels like the first page of something.

We’re still writing the beginning, and it’s already “the best thing I’ve ever read.”

With Love,

Alejandro