One Shot
Beneath the gloomy skies of London, the streets still bustled with people. They seemed to be rushing to some destinations that they had in mind, each going about their own business, no one seemed to take notice of the light drizzling rain.
"Sorry Mister. Can you help us take a photo please?"
I felt a tap on my shoulder.
A young girl held out her camera with a look of hesitation on her face. Behind her, her group of friends were already posing and waiting, with bright smiles on their faces. The gloomy weather of London did not seem to dampen their spirits.
Tourists. I thought to myself. At the same time, briskly nodded my head and took over her camera, noticing that it was almost the latest model in the digital cameras market.
Through the camera screen, I saw un-pretended smiling faces, each one cheerful and true in their own ways. It was a refreshing change from the false, calculating smiles I faced everyday in my line of work.
When I pressed down on the button, I suddenly recalled a figure from my past.
She was always going around the school campus with a camera, taking photos of anything that caught her eye. It can be couples hugging, a smile, the nfinity blue sky with their white fluffy companions or even just a newly grown green. When people questioned her, she only smiled and replied that she wanted to see something from a different perspective, learnt about different stories around her. And also to capture each special moments before they became memories of the past.
Even when digital cameras became popular, she had continued to stick with her film camera, insisting that whatever happened in life could not be un-happened or replayed. As the saying goes, what is done could not be completely undone. Whether the photo turned out good or bad, it is an evidence of a moment in time.
What will she see if she was the one taking the photo now? I wondered to myself.
Handing the camera back to its owner, I continued on my way, with her in thought.
Has she realized her dream to be a photographer and still is, taking pictures? Strangely, I had an urge to see her again.
//written yesterday (13/11) when the internet is down. oh well, what luck//