Camera of Coincidence

My mom’s been dead now 27 ½ days, but it feels like 27 ½ years. Losing her has been hard. No more phone calls at 6am, telling me to get a job. It annoyed me at the time, but now I really miss it. Why? Why did this happen? She was so young, barely 60 years old. By the time they diagnosed the cancer, it was already too late. She withered into something unrecognizable. By the end, she was well under 100 pounds, with sunken cheeks. She was a woman who spent her life finding beauty in her surroundings through the lens of a camera, only to have it taken in such an ugly way.

Mom was a famous photographer. Some of her work was in National Geographic. She left me a small portion of her fortune, the rest went to charity, an old Polaroid and a blender. My mom’s mansion was given to my sister, Joyce. We were never close, she was unpleasant most of the time and had the personality of a wet mop, the rest of the time. My brother, James, got all the cars. Doesn’t seem fair, why did she only leave me a small sum of money and an old, cheap-looking Polaroid?

My name is Daniel, and I am a poor author, living in a studio apartment. I lived a quiet life, simple, which I enjoyed some of the time, however, there are times when I wished I had financial freedom and could enjoy some of the finer things in life like my siblings.

When I opened the cedar box and pulled out the camera, it had a smell I knew very well. It was the faint aroma of lavender and vanilla. I closed my eyes for a moment just inhaling that scent, memories of my childhood flooding into my mind. I opened my eyes again and pulled out the pouch that held the camera, which seemed fancier than the camera itself.

My mom was a nature fanatic, loved trees and animals. She was an amazing lady, who had an incredible eye. She loved to capture truth in people’s smiles and the beauty of Mother Nature. Honestly, I was never interested in her photography until now. If only I had seen that note at the bottom of that cedar box, things would be so much different now, but sometimes fate finds a crack and steps through it. I couldn’t deal with this anymore. I put the camera back in the box, closed the lid and put it safely away on my closet shelf.

Years passed and the camera lay buried under sweaters and empty shoeboxes with the memories I didn’t have the strength to face.

One day, I was looking for a hiding spot for my pistol and I stumbled across the cedar box. I opened it and that familiar smell hit me like a freight train, instantly drawing me in. It reopened a semi-healed wound, but I knew it was time. I picked up the camera in that red, velvet pouch, set it aside and grabbed a stack of photos that was sitting underneath it. My mother never photographed the whole body of a person, just a smile or their shadow. It makes sense now that I know the entire story. Boy I really wish I would’ve seen that note.

I took the camera out of the pouch and turned it over in my hands to study it. It had brass buttons that looked much older than I thought they would. I dusted it off and loaded the film that I could only assume was included with the camera. It was also brass, which I thought was strange.

I decided to take a walk and test out the camera. I stretched out the old leather strap, which could’ve been hundreds of years old. It looked like 1800’s aged leather but it was still sturdy, so I put it around my neck and headed out the door.

I was slowly walking down the sidewalk trying to find something worth photographing, when there it was, a sexy, candy-apple red Porshe that I dreamt of since I was 12 years old. I raised the camera, pushed down on the button and the camera made a loud snap and POOF from the flash. The photo popped out the bottom and the number on the top when from 5 to 4.

I looked at the photo as it started developing and damn this thing was magnificent! I have seen photos taken with digital cameras that didn’t have this clarity and in black and white. There was definitely something weird about this camera. I went home, not wanting to waste the remaining 4 photos. Lord knows where to buy more film.

I decided I was going to spend the rest of my day writing. I had been in a funk but right now I felt alive. Like my pen was out of my control. It was exhilarating!

Before I knew it, 3 days had passed. I was a machine, writing practically nonstop. My focus was interrupted by a knock on the door. I thought, “oh shit, who the fuck was this?” No one hardly visits me anymore. I had not showered in a few days.

“Hello?” I answered on the doorbell camera.

“Oh hey, Daniel? It’s Joey,” said a burly man, who looked vaguely familiar.

“Joey?” I asked, sounding confused.

“Yeah, from college!” he answered.

“Hold on,” I answered and headed towards the door.

Joey, damn, we had not talked in years! I gathered myself and opened the door. It was definitely Joey. He was heavier with a long beard but I recognized that buck-toothed grin.

“Hey, Danny boy!” Joey shouted.

“Heeeey,” I said awkwardly, my eyes squinting in the bright sunlight that I have not seen in 3 days.

“Guess what I’m selling?” Joey asked excitedly, pointing over his shoulder at the candy-apple Porshe parked on the curb.

“What’s that?” I asked, looking enviously at my dream car.

Joey tossed a set of keys at me and said, “She’s yours if you want her, no catch. You can have her for $1. I got a bad ass job in Germany so I’m moving out of the country and she the last item I need to get rid of. For some reason, you popped in my head and I remembered you telling me how you always wanted one.”

A laugh escaped through my mouth which was hanging open in disbelief. “For real?” I asked him, thinking this had to be a joke.

Joey nodded, “it’s yours for a dollar!”

“Deal!” I shouted, reaching for my wallet. I pulled out a dollar, handed it to him and he handed me the title.

“If you’re ever overseas, look me up!” Joey said as he turned to get into a car that just pulled up.

“Ummmm, thanks,” I said, still not sure if this was real life.

I shut the door and thought, “could it be?” Luck itched and it had teeth.

I walked over to the table where I set the camera a few days ago and just stared at it. I picked it up, inspecting it, trying to find answers but only ended up with more questions.

I lived in a lonely bachelor’s pad that smelled like leftover tacos and wet dog. I needed a change and could help but ask if this old camera had powers of some sort? Why not? Stranger things have happened…I think.

I shook my head and decided to go back to writing. I felt so alive and it seemed stupid to waste it. My pen was on fire!

The next day, I decided to take the Porshe out for a spin and maybe give the camera another go. After taking a shower and putting on some fresh clothes, I grabbed the keys, the camera and headed out the door.

This car was incredible! Everything I ever dreamed about! I was sitting at stoplight, feeling so fortunate at how my life was going these last several days, when I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. There she was, the most perfect woman I had ever laid eyes on. She noticed me looking so I quickly looked away. I heard an adorable laugh and looked back up. She smiled and waved at me. I held up my camera and pointed at her indicating that I wanted to take her photo. She smiled even bigger and struck a pose. I pressed the shutter button and POOF the flash popped and the numbers went from 4 to 3. The camera whirred and the photo spit out. The light turned green, I set the camera down and waved goodbye to the pretty lady.

I pulled the Porshe into my driveway and picked up the photo I took. I squinted down at it and gave it a couple of shakes. That couldn’t be right, how the fuck was I standing right next to her? It had to be some sort of reflection. I shook my head and headed back inside. I still felt really alive, so I wanted to go back to my pen.

The next morning, my phone vibrated. Ughhh, I totally drank too much last night. I stared at my screen, “Unknown Number”

“Hello,” I grunted with a raspy voice.

“Hi Danny,” the woman on the other end said.

I sat up really quick and my stomach did a flip-flop.

“Emma?!” I asked, knowing that voice anywhere.

“Hi there,” she giggled.

Yup, it was Emma Caloway. She never looked twice at me back in school but I had the biggest crush on her and here she was calling me!

“I don’t know why but I just…thought of you,” she said, “wanna catch up?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said a little too quickly.

We ended up talking for over an hour. After I hung up, I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

Once is luck but twice is a pattern. I thought out loud, “mom what did you leave me, a genie in a camera?”

This adventure started a week ago and I thought I would test the true power of this genie. I drove over to that house I admired from a distance knowing there was no way I could ever afford it and POOF, the flash went off and the number went down to 2. Let’s see if I get a deed to that home.

Two days later, I received a call from a lawyer and he said, “your Uncle James left you everything. There is a home in Vermont, I sent the address to your email, along with some pictures.”

I looked at the pictures and it was exactly the same as the photo I took a couple days ago. Same porch, same peeling paint and most of all, the swing, only I was sitting in the swing in the Polaroid. I threw the photo to the ground, thinking a horrible thought. “Had I caused my Uncle James’ death?”

I instantly went from feeling alive to feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I also couldn’t eat anything or sleep without waking up in a cold sweat. The camera seemed to be staring at me.

I decided to do some research online and read an article about relics that can be possessed. Sometimes, possessed by demons. I knew what I had to do.

I frantically dug through the cedar box, going through all the pictures until I found what I was looking for, a full body shot of mom as a young woman in her favorite sun dress. I set it on the table and POOF, the flash went off and the number dropped to 1. The photo spit out and as it developed I looked…

Nooooo! What was this?! It was not my mother at all, it was a photo of all humanity burning, with a mushroom cloud in the background.

I waited days, weeks, months and nothing. I concluded that it had to be a mistake. I had one photo left. I put the camera back in the pouch, set it back in the cedar box and noticed a handwritten note tacked at the bottom. I picked it up and immediately recognized the handwriting:

Daniel,

I leave this camera to you. Whatever you do, DO NOT use it out of greed, lust or in any manner than to capture the beauty of life. Most of all, never use it to try and change time, death, birth, or events. The result could mean the end of mankind. Protect it with your life. Love, Mom

Daniel had done everything wrong. Everything was all wrong! The end of mankind? There was one photo left, how could this mess be fixed? Then there was a knock…

He looked at the door camera. It was his mother but her face was covered in blood, her eyes were blank. He switched on the news:

“Today the city has gone crazy. Over to Suzy who is reporting downtown,”

“Yes, it is a scene right out of a zombie movie. The dead are rising and feeding off the living. Life is being reversed. Oh no, oh noooooo…”

“Suzy? Suzy? Sorry folks, it seems like we lost the feed. If you can, find shelter and do it now…”

Be careful sometimes history has a Bite!