I was never any good at slacklining, but Hans tried to teach me. This is a picture of one end of the line he set up for us in September of 2016, in Oakland. Hans taught me a lot of things, like how to make huevos rancheros, how to dumpster dive, and the importance of bike lights, the first set of which I ever owned was a pair he gave me. In the span of life and all its possible outcomes, we didn’t have that much time together. A couple of years in New Haven, and after we moved to opposite coasts, I tried to visit each year. For some reason, even though I knew we didn’t have that time, I always thought there’d be another visit, another chance for me to get back on the line and for him to watch, at first bracing me with a hand or a shoulder, and then when I was brave enough to let go, to let go.