Picture day

She sat there rummaging through what she brought. The light dimmed and she had to squint to look at anything. The house had a musty smell to it and the walls were a dark gray and she sat there in the midst of it all. She hadn’t looked through what she packed, she had just thrown everything in boxes and then called it a day. She wasn’t sure what she left behind, and she didn’t care. She pulled out a towel. Dirt was everywhere throughout the towel making it hard to distinguish the different colors which once adorned the towel. It’s fabric unraveling but it still had a distinguishing soft feel to it. She threw it into a pile behind her that she labeled trash. Everything she had looked through so far had meant nothing to her anymore. Everything was now just trash. Her mind was now numb to the feelings that had once plagued her. She pulled out the next item and nearly dropped it in shock. 

“Not this, anything but this,” she cried silently.

Her camera, a gift from him. She remembered the day he gave it to her. They had just graduated together and he had given her this camera as a present. She remembered thinking it was the coolest thing ever. She could brag to her friends that she had the newest camera, the IXY DIGITAL. She picked it up, its surface cold to the touch with minimal finger prints on the screen. She turned it on. The screen flashed on showing the wooden floor beneath her and the tip of her black slippers. She stared down at the camera watching the image quiver uncontrollably as her body shook. 

“I’m not ready for this, I can’t, what was I thinking?” she cried. “Everything I once knew was all washed away when it happened. I want it to stay that way” 

Still she ran her finger over the camera finding the button which allowed her to access the library. She halted before she pushed the OK button on the camera. An image popped up but she held down the arrow till she reached the first picture. She had taken this picture the day after they had graduated since she had wanted to use the camera as soon as possible. It depicted a mountain towering over crystal clear water which glimmered in the sun. Overlooking a hill that if you fell down you would get dumped in the water below. That is if you didn’t get caught on the shrubs which peppered the landscape making an elaborate maze of bushes. She remembered that day vividly. She opened her mind and let the memory wash over her.

She had convinced him to go on a quick hike with her.

“I want to try out the new camera,” she insisted. “You love hiking,” she added.

“I do,” he admitted.

“Then what are you waiting for?” she asked as she dragged him outside and into the car. “I already have a place picked out, come on.” 

She hopped into the driver's seat and fastened her seat belt.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“You’ll find out,” she answered as she started the engine.

The hike was only thirty minutes away, and when they arrived recognition lit up in his face.

“You know this place?” she questioned.

“I’ve read about it. It is supposedly really nice,” he replied.

She led the way as they started the climb. It was a steep slope and when she reached the top she was out of breath.

“Oof this is a lot harder than I thought,” she complained.

“Well you can’t quit. I wasn’t dragged out here for nothing,” he admonished. “The key is taking your mind off it. You have to start up a conversation or something,” he added.

“Oh, but I know everything about you,” she started.

“Do you though?” he asked. 

“Well… I guess maybe not everything,” she admitted.

“Then start talking,” he ordered.

“Alright, well, how was your day?” she asked.

“Good, but too generic,” he said.

“Alright then, have you ridden a giraffe today?” she amended. “Is that better?” she asked bitterly.

“Yes, that was perfect,” he told her.

The ground shook slightly and she tripped.

“What was that?” she asked

“Nothing, it was probably just you being clumsy, let’s get back to talking” He encouraged.

“You didn’t answer the question though,” she pointed out.

“Oh, right, no I haven’t. Have you?” He asked.

“I might have,” she said.

“Really?” he asked skeptically.

“Who knows,” she responded. 

They continued chattering and before she knew it they had arrived.

“Wow, you were right, time really flew by,” she admitted.

“Since when have I ever been wrong?” he asked.

“Oh all the time,” she teased.

“So you say, but you haven't listed a time,” he defended.

“Oh alright then. How about that time you thought that pasta…” 

“Ohhhhhh, wow look at the view so majestic,” he interrupted.

She knew he was just trying to distract her, but he wasn’t wrong. The view was beautiful.

She set the camera down and cried. Curled into a ball and wept. When she finally stopped her knees were dripping with tears. She wasn’t sure why she did it, but she picked the camera back up and looked at the next picture. It was a picture of a painting she found engrossing. It depicted a person painting a painting of a person painting a painting of a person painting… and so on. Of which she had named the mirror.

She had just arrived at the museum with him and she wasn’t excited.

“Come on, you know it is going to be fun,” he prodded.

“But art is so boring,” she complained as they walked past the check in.

“No it’s not. You can capture an entire story in a painting,” he replied.

“You’ve always loved art,” she admitted. “I just haven't seen a painting that really spoke to me.”

“Well maybe you will here,” he said as he pulled her into a long hallway filled with paintings.

“I doubt it,” she responded.

“You doubt a lot of things,” he admonished.

“I do,” she agreed.

“Then stop that hateful thinking and look around won’t you,” he cried.

“Alright, alright, fine,” she replied.

She looked around for a while then grew tired and found herself sitting on a chair waiting for him to finish. Which if she knew him wasn’t going to be for a while. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through it looking at stupid news articles about cats and random politics.

“Come here!” he shouted across the room, drawing several gazes. 

She ducked her head and waited for people to look away. When they finally did she snuck over to him. 

“What!” She whisper-screamed.

“Look at this painting,” he said as he pointed to the painting in front of him. 

She looked over and there it was, the Mirror as she now called it. That’s when it happened. A spark lit inside of her. Her scowl disappeared and turned to a look of amazement.

“I take it you like it?” he asked.

“It’s incredible,” she breathed.

“Well I’ll leave you here. I am going to go look at other paintings.” He informed her.

Hours passed and by the end of the day she was still looking at the same painting until they had to leave.

The painting still left a mark on her and she knew that she would still hate art had she not found it. All the wonderful things he did for her. Her best friend, Levi. She pressed the button that allowed her to move on to the next picture. It showed a picture of a floor and she skipped past it, having only taken it by accident. She accidentally held the button skipping to the very first picture taken which showed a flooded city. Only the tops of roof tops visible. The picture point was from the top of a hill with the water just barley covering the grass. This one sent tears to her eyes. The last picture she had taken.

There was a warning on the radio.

“In thirty minutes a tsunami will hit anyone that can make it out in time should.”

The problem was that too many people were trying to get out too quickly. Too many car crashes. This slowed things down and not everyone made it out. One of those people happened to be Levi. She had slept through the warning. She had never been a morning person and woke up just when the tsunami started to wake. Her house was just high enough off the ground. She moved outside and watched the waves crash over her beloved city destroying it forever. She frantically called Levi to make sure he was okay. 

“Briiiiiinnnnnnggggggggggg, you have reached the voicemail of Levi Rosen please leave a message after the beep,” 

She hung up. 

“How was she going to find him?” she wondered.

She remembered she had a paddleboard in the garage which she ran to get. She pumped it up ignoring the burning in her arms. When it was ready she carried it to the bottom of her hill hopping on and paddling in the waters that grew deeper and deeper. People needed help and she let some people on her board but left space for one person as she continued towards Levi’s house.

“Where are we going? I want to get out of here,” one person complained.

“Shut up and wait,” she yelled, desperation creeping into her voice.

She hadn’t seen him yet. She reached his house. His car was still in the driveway. That wasn’t good. She couldn’t open the door because the water level was higher than the handle.

“This is who you're looking for?” A person from the paddleboard spoke up.

“Yes!” Do you know if he is okay?

“I… he didn’t make it, I saw him go under,” They stated. 

She dropped the paddle not caring that it was floating away. Someone from the boat picked it up and started paddling.

“How… how is this happening,” she cried into the empty space.

“I’m sorry this happened to you, but if we can get off this paddleboard imagine all the people we could save,” someone reminded her. 

They reached the top of a hill where other survivors sat. Someone coxed them off and immediately swept up the paddleboard and padded off into the city. 

“Are you okay?" a nurse asked her.

“No, I am far from okay,”

“Where are you hurt,” She asked.

“My emotions aren’t functioning anymore,” She replied. 

That's when she realized she couldn’t live in a town that was no longer a town just to go outside everyday and be reminded of what had happened. So the next day she had packed her stuff in a trance, throwing random things in random boxes, not even registering half the things she threw. 

She turned off the camera and threw it in the trash pile. This was no longer her beloved camera. Instead it was a place for bad memories to fester. She didn’t want to be reminded of what had happened.