Don't worry bait it man, we're just chillin in the Van

The sun was beginning to set, and besides feeling especially interested in my surroundings, I didn't feel all that unusual. So I pretended to be awestruck by the beauty of a tree, which wasn't hard because I love nature. But nothing really special had happened by the time we decided to go back

E, on the other hand, was starting to hit the comeup. He was extremely happy and talkative,  and when we got back to the van, he wasn't comfortable driving. So I took the wheel, and we went to pick up these two girls I knew, one of whom I used to date. They'd called to see what we were doing when we were picking up the pizza. 

On our way, E was muttering about how the van felt like a spaceship, and I was excited to be on his level. 

We passed a green street lamp and I convinced him that I was actually red but he was just tripping so hard he thought it was green. He wasn't tripping that hard. 

So we picked up the girls and went to a lake with a mile-long sidewalk all around it, and walked around, and I remember just feeling so GOOD. Everything was exciting, so vivid. The sun had gone down and it was cold and the girls were in short shorts (because it's Texas) so we gave them our coats. E was talking nonstop and I was mildly annoyed because I thought he was making us look lame, but not long later, I was on his level. 

About halfway around, I felt it kick in. We stopped and sat on a bench and one of the girls asked me to sing. The world felt so relaxed but I also felt like I wasn't totally inside my body. I gazed out across the lake and listened to myself sing, but I didn't feel like I was controlling it. I'm pretty good, not to toot my own horn. And the street lamps across the lake each suddenly seemed to be a gateway to its own world hidden in the shadows behind it. 

We got up and continued our walk and I can't remember what we talked about but I felt myself falling in love with the night: with the friendship and the lake and even a little bit with my ex walking beside me. 

And then E said, "Dude. YAWN."

So we both spent good time yawning as surely only gods yawn. 

When we got back to the van again, the girls had to be home and neither of us could drive. The girls weren't licensed. But E let them drive us all to their house in his dad's van, and they went inside and left us tripping in a creepy can on their street. 

Also, remember the back seat didn't exist, we were on top of a pile of junk. 

E had the sense to climb into the driver seat, and I was sprawled over what I think was a fire extinguisher. 

I was incoherent. Visuals of textured patterns were emblazoning themselves into my mind. I was everything and nothing. My phone fell on my face, and I remember having the feeling that it was my best friend in the world. It had a personality. Then I began to think of myself. I was starting to get overweight and I am a really hairy guy, and I felt very distraught about that. But then I felt myself become a muppet like, fuzzy, friendly brown "monster" who was lovable in his own way. (I actually think I'm a pretty good looking guy, but what I learned was to love myself no matter what I look like)

Then I came out of this reverie and climbed into the front with E, who had been going through his own form of rebirth. We watched some music videos on his phone. (I Monster is amazing on shrooms) 

And we talked about everything. Everything. We talked about the world and the sky and how great everything felt and we talked about TALKING, and how words seemed foreign and sometimes lost their meaning. And we decided that we must've been spirit brothers, born into different families. We still call each other "Spi Bros"

Once he was good enough to drive, we headed off. As I watched street signs, the letters seemed to have their own personalities, and somehow I felt like they channeled my mom. Without looking like her. (My parents have been a recurring theme in my trips, and if I had some sort of trip report blog I'd go more into that) 

The rest of the night isn't as important. It was still only about 9 PM and the trip lasted much longer. We met up with a guy who I'd spent half a year hating because he ratted me out for having weed when we'd gotten pulled over together, but I forgave him on the spot. We had a great time. 

And that was the start of a new chapter in my life. One in which I've learned to accept myself and my peers and the world around me as reflections of the beauty of the universe, and at such a crucial time in my growth, I'm glad I've had these experiences. 

The Beginning.