In New York a few years ago, MARIA, had this rough time when her grandpa died. She went through a kind of CRISIS, where she finally had to deal with this deliberate emotional and geographical distance she had put between herself and her family. And how she dealt with it was to walk. She would walk from west 86th street down to 23rd street or 72nd street, like 2-5 miles a day. She would take off in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT when she couldn't deal with the heat and the PRESSURE IN HER HEAD. The streets were still busy, shops still open then, she could still lose herself in the ANONYMITY of the streets. Her friends used to get worried for her, it's dangerous out there, but it seems she liked the EDGE, the tension, the readiness TO RUN or lash out. I think that was what it was like for her then, walking was like this kind of THERAPY, SOME DISTANCE SHE COULD TRAVEL PHYSICALLY TO LET HER THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS PLAY OUT. And the drama matched her moods swings, crazy people shouting, sirens going off, cars splashing water up the curb - it was kind of this half-reality, BETWEEN DREAM AND MOVIE, THE SOUNDTRACK AND TERRAIN OF THE CITY PUNCTUATED BY THESE EVENTS.