Chapter 18 Photograph

Chapter 18 Photograph

  Our guests erupted into another round of applause as they beheld the wholesome scene in front of them. I felt proud, standing there with my parents, their love for me overflowing in the form of gifts. Dad's sudden announcement piqued our curiosity as he left quickly to fetch something.

  "What could it be?" Mom and I exchanged a quizzical look. "Your dad outdone me, huh?"

  "No, Mom, I equally like your gifts. There's no need to compete. I appreciate them both," I assured her.

  "Aww, how could you, at such a young age, know how to flatter people?" Mom teased.

  "I don't know, it just felt right to say it," I replied, scratching the back of my head.

  "See? You and your dad are alike," Mom smiled.

  "What? No..." I tried to deny it, but before I could finish, Dad had returned.

  "Thanks for waiting. Since you like the camera, I would like to give you these also," Dad said, producing a plethora of camera gear. There were different kinds of camera stands, tripods, handheld ones, and long ones. There were various camera lenses, all of which were expensive. And he also gave me a portable photo printer.

  "Wow," I breathed, in disbelief at the abundance of gifts.

  "You planned this all along, didn't you?" Mom accused him, her tone laced with anger.

  "Huh? No, hahaha," Dad laughed nervously, unable to hide his guilt. In the past, he could easily fool people with his sweet talking and empty promises, but now he is a terrible liar.

  "Anyway, now that I've bought everything, maybe we should take a commemorative photo for everyone," Dad suggested.

  "Okay, we should do that," Mom shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant. But she shot a fake smile at Dad and added, "But later, there's something we'll talk about."

  "Yikes!" Dad's scared expression made me laugh. I knew how tumultuous their relationship had been in the past. Mom was usually beaten up and threatened by that shitty old man, but now she revealed her more dominant side.

  "Let's just start taking photos, Dad," I suggested.

  "Alright, let me set it up a bit," Dad said, assembling the camera tripod and changing the lens.

  "Everyone, please gather and take a group photo!" Dad beckoned. All of our guests started to gather, and of course, I am at the center, and beside me were my Mom and Dad.

  "Hey, is that camera able to capture all of us? We're too wide," Mom said, looking at the camera skeptically.

  "Yeah, Mom's right, we're having a hundred guests, after all," I added.

  "Don't worry, I changed the camera lens, right? I use a wide-angle lens, so it should be enough to capture all of us," Dad reassured us.

  "Come to think of it, why didn't we hire a photographer for this event?" Mom asked.

  "Because I'm already a photographer, right? There's no need for us to hire someone," Dad boasted.

  "Then who will be the one to press the capture button? We're all here, and I guess you didn't time it either," Mom pointed out.

  "Heh, I also bought a remote control for this," Dad said, with a smug grin.

  My mom just released a sigh as a sign of surrender. "Okay, everyone, look at the camera and smile at the count of three!"

  "Three!" Dad counted down, as we all smiled our best smiles.

  "Chick!"  The camera captured the moment. 

  "Okay let's take another photo again with a wacky pose!"

*********

  After taking numerous photos with our guests, relatives, and classmates, I feel a little exhausted but I don't care. It is really fun, I felt that I'm a celebrity, the man of the night, something like that. 

  Now it is the last photo batch that will be captured and this time my new friends are besides me. 

  The beautiful girl, the smartest boy, the energetic girl, the delinquent boy, and the quiet girl. My new friends, together will be in one frame. 

  "Alright kids, on the count of three!... smile!"

  I smiled wholeheartedly. Until now, I can't erase from my mind that all these are just a dream, an impossible dream. Everything feels so surreal. But I'm happy nonetheless. I kept saying this because It's the only thing in my mind. 

  "They are so cute. Hon I think we should print out their photos first." My mom suggested it to dad.

  "Sure thing, honey. Just let me grab my laptop real quick," my dad replied, as he made his way towards his laptop.

  As my dad busied himself with the printing, my new friends took the opportunity to greet me again, this time with a heartfelt "Happy Birthday!"

  "Hey Justin, thanks for this night," said the smartest kid in the group.

  I replied, "No, no...thank you for coming tonight."

  The beautiful girl in the group complimented me and said, "Your party is so elegant and beautiful."

  I responded with a smile, "Yeah, it's thanks to my mom and dad."

  "The food is also delicious!" exclaimed the energetic girl.

  "Thanks, my mom cooked all of those," I replied, feeling grateful for the effort my mom put into making the party a success.

  One of the quieter girls in the group spoke up and said, "Your party is well planned, and your other guests are good."

  "It's probably because of my dad," I joked, making everyone laugh.

  The delinquent kid, who had surprised me by talking to me nicely earlier, chimed in, "I hope you also enjoyed this night."

  "A-y-yeah, I super enjoyed this night," I replied, still taken aback by how nice he was being to me.

  I smiled at my new friends and said, "Thank you for coming and your gifts. I appreciated it a lot."

  As I thanked them, my dad called us out to check on the pictures he printed out.

  "Hey kids take a look at this photo-" 

Swoosh! 

  Strong winds came inside and took the photo from my dad's fingers. 

  "Woa-" Dad tried to catch it but unfortunately the photo flew to the windows and flew outside. Since all of us were on the second floor, no one would fetch it outside. 

  "No…the photo." My dad frowned. 

  "It's alright dad, we can just print it out again right?" 

  "Okay just give me a minute again." 

  After 5 minutes, he called out to us again and handed us our own copy of the photo. 

6 of us looking at our photo. 

I placed the photo near my chest. "Thank you everyone, for this photo." My new friends smiled.

Chapter 18 -END-

To Be Continued

Wind… thank you for bringing this photo to me. It's a small comfort to see these children's happiness… but it reminds me of what I lost. I wish I could pick it up myself, feel the weight of it in my hands, but as you know, I'm just like you now. A fleeting presence in this world, a ghost among the living. Nobody can see me anymore, but unlike you, they can still feel you.

These kids are looking genuinely happy in this photo, and it's bittersweet to think that I may have played a small part in shaping their future. Maybe this time, I'm not just a bystander, but a participant in the unfolding of their lives.

But what does it matter now? I'm nothing but a shadow, a memory of what could have been. And yet, I still feel a yearning in my heart. A desperate desire to hold onto something tangible, something real.

Wind, I have a request for you. I know there's nothing I can offer anymore, but I'm begging you. Please, if they have a new photo, bring it to me again. I want to see the unforeseeable future, to catch a glimpse of what might have been, if things had gone differently.

I don't know how long I'll last in this world, or if I'll ever find peace. But please, wind, grant me this one small wish. Let me see their happy memories from now on, and maybe, just maybe, I'll find some solace in their joy.

"..."

Thank you, wind. You are my only friend in this world, and I'm looking forward to the day when I can see their happy faces once more.