Right away, my dreams felt different. I’ve always been a vivid dreamer, conjuring bizarre landscapes and mysterious figures, but in Tepoztlan, the dreams were stranger and even more vivid than usual. I dreamed of kicking around New York City with the disgraced comedian Louis CK as he filmed some sort of hybrid reality/scripted television show. Every time he approached a woman, my stomach clenched, and I worried he’d say or do something terrible. Eventually, we went to an awards show—it wasn’t clear which one, but it was Very Important. Possibly the Grammies? I was seated beside the New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, and I was fascinated to finally see him in real life. The other younger rappers made fun of his looks and bearings, and in response, he pulled out his cell phone and rapped several bars into a voice memo. He emailed the file to a producer friend who put it to a beat and released it. It went platinum before the ceremony finished, and I thanked him for his greatness—and for being saner than Kanye, at least.

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