“Where do you Wanna go”
Rachel had never been to Chile or Easter Island, but she felt like she belonged there. It started when she was a child, hearing about the Moai statues and the unknown history behind them. She would flip through magazines as a child and look at the Moai statues standing tall against the vast Pacific Ocean. She would trace their carved faces with her fingertips, wondering who had built them, what they had seen, and why they seemed to be waiting for someone—waiting for her. As she grew older, that feeling never faded. Every time she saw a new video or picture or stumbled upon a documentary about Chile, the same longing crept inside of her—a quiet voice telling her she had to go.
At night, she would watch videos of the island on YouTube, watching welcome videos and the sights of Chile. Letting the waves and wind fill her headphones, she would close her eyes as if she were already there. She imagined the sun-worn stones beneath her fingertips, the salty air clinging to her skin. But it wasn’t just Rapa Nui that called to her. The streets of Santiago, the vast Atacama Desert, the wild landscapes of Patagonia and the Andes—all of Chile felt like a place she had once known but somehow forgotten.
One day, she promised herself, she would step off a plane—no matter how long the flight—and feel that warm Chilean breeze on her face. She would walk among the Moai, whispering her own story to them, hoping they would share their story in return. Until then, she would keep watching, keep dreaming, and keep listening for the call of a place that felt like home.