Two days in Chicago hardly seemed long enough to explore the brick-colored city. It was the first weekend of March 2018, the biting cold a shock to my freshly shaved head and thin California skin. Less than two months into our relationship, we booked our plane tickets on an adrenaline-filled whim. Some may have called it stupid or naïve, but even then, I knew. I knew you.

The series “Souls in Chicago” captures the variety of souls that I met in Chicago. Yours, naturally. The mass of people at each train stop, everyone rushing to get on with their lives. The unknown author of the handwritten letter we found on the L, who unwittingly shared a piece of their life with us through spidery scrawl. The artists whose creations we admired, on the streets and in museums. Each and every passerby.

Chicago, I’ll be back someday. I hope you will be too.

you met my soul back in Chicago
i lost control but I'm trying to get it back 
now that i'm home

but I have to say goodbye 
to the idea of us intertwined, 
good night

you'll always have a piece of my heart, 
thank you for a lovely start

we have a complex situation, 
but goodnight 
with love and veneration

All photos by Victoria Conway.