Illusions
Staring with a fresher perspective, I began clicking the button on my camera with my hand. With each click, it was like they brought me in another world. I don't know if it's a coincidence or what, but photography is just in my blood. Not literally, though, nobody in my family likes photography as much as I do. I just cannot deny my urge to capture something in my camera, that would stay with me forever. And it would be from my perspective, and how I think about it, not others.
I remember some months ago? "What are you thinking of capturing this time?" Hazel had asked me, as she circled around the big palm tree, waiting for me to complete my photography. I had answered through a silent pause. She was used to me being quiet sometimes. I talked twice more than the average talking speed when I began speaking, but sometimes silence suited me. And she knew that very well. YES. Her name was Hazel. And she had hazel-coloured hair. Coincidence? No, of course not. Her mom had named her that when she noticed her hazel features as a baby. She hated taking pictures but never stopped me from taking pictures of other objects and of other people. I stayed away from most people though, not unlike Hazel's tendency to keep away from people. I don't recall taking many pictures of people (portraits), except her. She also never took pictures of herself, and never asked me. We were not in the least bit similar, but we got along pretty well. I don't know how. In the beginning of our friendship? there were times when I wondered if she was comfortable with me taking photographs, but her being on the sidelines just watching. She had clarified, most confidently, that she did NOT want to be a model and pose for the pictures, unlike many of our classmates. I doubt ANYONE had many pictures of her. We always stayed away from the crowds, and friends. They didn't approach us unless they wanted pictures, either. My pictures reflect my thoughts and my mood, but no one else can recognize them from the pictures.
Every memory, every secret, every story flashed into my foggy mind, as I saw a girl's hair flying in the summer wind. Losing someone. Who though, who is it? The gut-wrenching feeling emerges again. No, no, please. I don't want these strange future flashbacks in my mind again. They horrify me! I covered my eyes with my hands, my mind screaming to stop the visions. Every time I picked up the camera, they happened. My camera dropped on the grainy sand with a soft thud, as I cleared my eyes but something was still wrong. My eyes could see clearly but something tugged at the back of my mind telling me it's all fake.
Hazel and I were going together to Palm Springs for camp. It had been some days, some lonely days with no one except Hazel and me and the others at camp who seemed so far, so unlike us. Then, one day, this boy with a stupid grin on his face, his smooth copper skin shining in the blazing sun, came into our life. I'd been taking pictures of Hazel beside the tall palms at lunch. She'd surprisingly given me permission to click her photos. She'd grown comfortable now. Her dark black eyes focused on the camera lens and she flashed her warm smile, wearing a bright blue beach frock and flip flops, when he came right into my camera lens, his eyes wide in surprise, as I clicked, startling me. He had spiky short black hair, which, for some reason, he kept smoothing over with his hands with an annoyed expression. He was holding his lunch plate and saying, apparently annoyed at us, "Rude. I was right here, you know, you could've asked me for a picture too." when hazel and I proceeded to exchange confused Uh, you know this guy glances at each other. "Sooo- I've got tea. Ms. Blondie over at table five" he slightly nudged his head towards a tall blonde girl, staring distastefully at her plate of a large hamburger, dressed in a short, white dress and platform heels- HOW DID SHE WALK IN THOSE IN THE SAND?!- and continued, "She doesn't like these DELISH HAMBURGERS! Says the food her chef made back home was much better. Can you believe it!? I say we- "
Hazel interrupted him, "Excuse me, do we know you?"
"Well, now you do. I'm Daksh. D-A-K-S-H. I love my name, but honestly nobody gets it right. Alright, anyways you're forgiven for not asking me to be in the photo." he smoothed out his hair again, with no successful results. "AH- damn this."
He seemed fun and Hazel and I had no friends in camp, so we let him sit with us. And also we had no other choice. He was actually pretty cool. Except for the fact he kept trying to flatten his spiky hair, which annoyed me to great lengths. "Why do you keep doing that?" I asked, annoyed. "I hate the way it stands up straight. Why doesn't it flatten? I've tried water, hair gel, and conditioner... Nothing seems to work." He said, making the same face I was making. "Are you mimicking me?" I scowled. "Of course not." He scowled. Okay, mimicking the faces exactly the same way I MADE them, (there are a lot of those. In different varieties.) was impressive. I chuckled, "Okay."
Singing with Hazel playing her guitar around the bonfires, typical campfire nights, camp activities, and roaming around the nearby places in the woods passed out time fast. So fast, that the memories were already fading from my mind. It all seemed like, it really wasn't all true. Like a film. Just small bits and parts attached together but had not been edited yet, and they didn't make sense yet. There was a small string or a small part that was needed, to make it all feel complete. Hazel allowed me to take pictures of her, here and then at camp. Turned out Daksh loved to model goofy poses for the camera too. So we'd been told to collect bonfire wood by the camp guide so we went at the cliffside. The view was beautiful, so I decided to bring my camera along to take a few clicks. It seemed dangerous though. It was steep and slippery at the edge; below thousands of feet of rock. I was searching for any pieces of sticks around the thickets while Daksh and Hazel looked around the bare ground looking for unique pebbles; Hazel loved to collect them.
"HEY!! Come here!" I heard her shout, and I ran towards the sound, my heart thumping loudly, panicking. Daksh held a little pebble, that had coffee-coloured marble swirls, in his hand, his face triumphant. Hazel sat on the grainy sand beside him, grinning.
"You two! YOU HAD ME PANICKED." I almost screamed in anger. "And get away from there, it's dangerous!!"
"Relax. Take a picture of us. 'New discovery of a major fossil found by mere 16-year-olds at camp.' Great headline, don't you think?" she laughed.
"No, let's get out of here. I don't like this place." My mind began to cloud.
"Just take a picture. It's fine." Daksh sighed.
I calmed myself down and brought my camera close to my eyes. They moved further towards the edge. "Come closer, why are you going so far?"
"Just capture the whole scenery."
In the frame, I could view Daksh and Hazel holding the pebble with jubilant smiles, when I said, "Say cheese!" sighing unenthusiastically.
Hazel raised her hand to make a victory sign, (what is with that pose these days?) and raised one leg to hold a pose when her leg shifted slightly, and she lost her balance. All world broke loose. My hands trembled as I struggled to catch her and the pebble fell out of her hand. Daksh's smile faded and horror replaced it as we caught just a glimpse of her hazel hair, as she fell slowly down the great height, and my whole mind went black.
Hazel? What just happened? I was panicking, my eyes searching for Hazel, or even Daksh, for I seemed lost at the moment. I needed to avoid this. I would turn the world upside down, to prevent this. No. This couldn't have happened. Wait. This HADN'T happened. Why couldn't I see anything? Suddenly, my eyes cleared. This time, for real. I was holding a camera- my camera- and in the lens, in the background of the swaying palms, stood Hazel. She was wearing the same bright blue beach frock that day when we first met Daksh. It seemed like so long ago already. But here we were. What was going on? Her smile shifted to exasperation as she walked toward me, "Why aren't you clicking already, it's been minutes!" And then came a familiar spiky-haired Indian boy into the frame, his eyes raised, as I clicked the button in alarm, my mind struggling to adjust to the scene. Was the past repeating itself, giving me another opportunity to make up? Or was all that I had experienced through camp just visions? What seemed like hours, days even had only been seconds of a vision. Long visions that had seemed like short days. Visions that were urging me to save Hazel from what was going to happen. Visions that would change the future, and allow me to set things right.
Staring with a fresher perspective, I began clicking the button on my camera with my hand. With each click, it was like they brought me in another world. I don't know if it's a coincidence or what, but photography is just in my blood. Not literally, though, nobody in my family likes photography as much as I do. I just cannot deny my urge to capture something in my camera, that would stay with me forever. And it would be from my perspective, and how I think about it, not others.
I remember some months ago? "What are you thinking of capturing this time?" Hazel had asked me, as she circled around the big palm tree, waiting for me to complete my photography. I had answered through a silent pause. She was used to me being quiet sometimes. I talked twice more than the average talking speed when I began speaking, but sometimes silence suited me. And she knew that very well. YES. Her name was Hazel. And she had hazel-coloured hair. Coincidence? No, of course not. Her mom had named her that when she noticed her hazel features as a baby. She hated taking pictures but never stopped me from taking pictures of other objects and of other people. I stayed away from most people though, not unlike Hazel's tendency to keep away from people. I don't recall taking many pictures of people (portraits), except her. She also never took pictures of herself, and never asked me. We were not in the least bit similar, but we got along pretty well. I don't know how. In the beginning of our friendship? there were times when I wondered if she was comfortable with me taking photographs, but her being on the sidelines just watching. She had clarified, most confidently, that she did NOT want to be a model and pose for the pictures, unlike many of our classmates. I doubt ANYONE had many pictures of her. We always stayed away from the crowds, and friends. They didn't approach us unless they wanted pictures, either. My pictures reflect my thoughts and my mood, but no one else can recognize them from the pictures.
Every memory, every secret, every story flashed into my foggy mind, as I saw a girl's hair flying in the summer wind. Losing someone. Who though, who is it? The gut-wrenching feeling emerges again. No, no, please. I don't want these strange future flashbacks in my mind again. They horrify me! I covered my eyes with my hands, my mind screaming to stop the visions. Every time I picked up the camera, they happened. My camera dropped on the grainy sand with a soft thud, as I cleared my eyes but something was still wrong. My eyes could see clearly but something tugged at the back of my mind telling me it's all fake.
Hazel and I were going together to Palm Springs for camp. It had been some days, some lonely days with no one except Hazel and me and the others at camp who seemed so far, so unlike us. Then, one day, this boy with a stupid grin on his face, his smooth copper skin shining in the blazing sun, came into our life. I'd been taking pictures of Hazel beside the tall palms at lunch. She'd surprisingly given me permission to click her photos. She'd grown comfortable now. Her dark black eyes focused on the camera lens and she flashed her warm smile, wearing a bright blue beach frock and flip flops, when he came right into my camera lens, his eyes wide in surprise, as I clicked, startling me. He had spiky short black hair, which, for some reason, he kept smoothing over with his hands with an annoyed expression. He was holding his lunch plate and saying, apparently annoyed at us, "Rude. I was right here, you know, you could've asked me for a picture too." when hazel and I proceeded to exchange confused Uh, you know this guy glances at each other. "Sooo- I've got tea. Ms. Blondie over at table five" he slightly nudged his head towards a tall blonde girl, staring distastefully at her plate of a large hamburger, dressed in a short, white dress and platform heels- HOW DID SHE WALK IN THOSE IN THE SAND?!- and continued, "She doesn't like these DELISH HAMBURGERS! Says the food her chef made back home was much better. Can you believe it!? I say we- "
Hazel interrupted him, "Excuse me, do we know you?"
"Well, now you do. I'm Daksh. D-A-K-S-H. I love my name, but honestly nobody gets it right. Alright, anyways you're forgiven for not asking me to be in the photo." he smoothed out his hair again, with no successful results. "AH- damn this."
He seemed fun and Hazel and I had no friends in camp, so we let him sit with us. And also we had no other choice. He was actually pretty cool. Except for the fact he kept trying to flatten his spiky hair, which annoyed me to great lengths. "Why do you keep doing that?" I asked, annoyed. "I hate the way it stands up straight. Why doesn't it flatten? I've tried water, hair gel, and conditioner... Nothing seems to work." He said, making the same face I was making. "Are you mimicking me?" I scowled. "Of course not." He scowled. Okay, mimicking the faces exactly the same way I MADE them, (there are a lot of those. In different varieties.) was impressive. I chuckled, "Okay."
Singing with Hazel playing her guitar around the bonfires, typical campfire nights, camp activities, and roaming around the nearby places in the woods passed out time fast. So fast, that the memories were already fading from my mind. It all seemed like, it really wasn't all true. Like a film. Just small bits and parts attached together but had not been edited yet, and they didn't make sense yet. There was a small string or a small part that was needed, to make it all feel complete. Hazel allowed me to take pictures of her, here and then at camp. Turned out Daksh loved to model goofy poses for the camera too. So we'd been told to collect bonfire wood by the camp guide so we went at the cliffside. The view was beautiful, so I decided to bring my camera along to take a few clicks. It seemed dangerous though. It was steep and slippery at the edge; below thousands of feet of rock. I was searching for any pieces of sticks around the thickets while Daksh and Hazel looked around the bare ground looking for unique pebbles; Hazel loved to collect them.
"HEY!! Come here!" I heard her shout, and I ran towards the sound, my heart thumping loudly, panicking. Daksh held a little pebble, that had coffee-coloured marble swirls, in his hand, his face triumphant. Hazel sat on the grainy sand beside him, grinning.
"You two! YOU HAD ME PANICKED." I almost screamed in anger. "And get away from there, it's dangerous!!"
"Relax. Take a picture of us. 'New discovery of a major fossil found by mere 16-year-olds at camp.' Great headline, don't you think?" she laughed.
"No, let's get out of here. I don't like this place." My mind began to cloud.
"Just take a picture. It's fine." Daksh sighed.
I calmed myself down and brought my camera close to my eyes. They moved further towards the edge. "Come closer, why are you going so far?"
"Just capture the whole scenery."
In the frame, I could view Daksh and Hazel holding the pebble with jubilant smiles, when I said, "Say cheese!" sighing unenthusiastically.
Hazel raised her hand to make a victory sign, (what is with that pose these days?) and raised one leg to hold a pose when her leg shifted slightly, and she lost her balance. All world broke loose. My hands trembled as I struggled to catch her and the pebble fell out of her hand. Daksh's smile faded and horror replaced it as we caught just a glimpse of her hazel hair, as she fell slowly down the great height, and my whole mind went black.
Hazel? What just happened? I was panicking, my eyes searching for Hazel, or even Daksh, for I seemed lost at the moment. I needed to avoid this. I would turn the world upside down, to prevent this. No. This couldn't have happened. Wait. This HADN'T happened. Why couldn't I see anything? Suddenly, my eyes cleared. This time, for real. I was holding a camera- my camera- and in the lens, in the background of the swaying palms, stood Hazel. She was wearing the same bright blue beach frock that day when we first met Daksh. It seemed like so long ago already. But here we were. What was going on? Her smile shifted to exasperation as she walked toward me, "Why aren't you clicking already, it's been minutes!" And then came a familiar spiky-haired Indian boy into the frame, his eyes raised, as I clicked the button in alarm, my mind struggling to adjust to the scene. Was the past repeating itself, giving me another opportunity to make up? Or was all that I had experienced through camp just visions? What seemed like hours, days even had only been seconds of a vision. Long visions that had seemed like short days. Visions that were urging me to save Hazel from what was going to happen. Visions that would change the future, and allow me to set things right.
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