Love Tides | ✓

epilogue | the last photo

για πάντα

[ forever and always ]

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Avery bounced on the ball of his feet, foot to foot, back and forth in repetition. He held the polaroid camera he used for the past weeks, his hand found itself upwards as he tugged the tie on his suit, pulling on it uncomfortably.

He didn't quite find comfort in sharp tuxes or polished blazers of any kind, even having a mother as a fashion designer never gnawed at his sense of comfortability, he much more preferred hanging around with a pair of jeans and a simple shirt than anything else. Penelope had gotten him into the thought to always be ready for an adventure. As he thought about it know, he never knew he needed her as much as now.

The words on the large platform stage seemed to shallow out in his ears as nerves anguished his mind, his once steady breaths turning uneven and thrifty. He simultaneously bit the inside of his cheek as he looked at the Sean and Jean Taylor as they performed their portfolio on the stage, the large crowd filled with commentists, critics and scouts coating the seats as they sometimes blew a laugh or nodded in approval. All the contestants had their mentors to accompany them, yet, Avery was alone from Adamos' not wanting to come. He knew quite well that his mother was sitting in the crowd, still, comfort never seemed to reach him.

"Five minutes till stage," the woman next to him commented, holding a large folder in her hand as she pushed her large glasses up to the bridge of her nose. "Your name?"

"Avery Lawrence," Avery commented, pushing his tongue to the inside of his cheek.

The woman nodded, chewing loudly on her piece of bubblegum. "Avery Lawrence, great and check. Your mentor...Adams Baker, right?"

Avery faltered before quickly shaking his head in denial. "His name is Adamos Bakritisz. And no, he's not here. Unfortunately."

"Pitiful," the woman rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you're one in five. Right after Sean and Jean Taylor. Alright?"

"Noted," Avery said, pulling his gaze back at Jean Taylor, who stood on the stage with a wild smile on his face as he side-hugged his son. He wanted that, but not with a father, or a family member or with a friend—but with Penelope. He wanted to be with her, hug her, kiss her, love her.

His phone in his pocket itched his attention, maybe he should call her, just one message, then maybe, just only maybe she'd answer. Avery maybe could hear her voice one more time before he entered the stage for his future.

"Thank you so much for your time folks."

In came Jean Taylor and Sean, large smiles on their faces as they exited the stage. Avery's nerves nipped back to the highest point, he couldn't do that, he couldn't not without Penelope.

"Beat that, kid," Jean Taylor mocked in Avery's direction, his southern accent leaving in a sneer. "I wish you luck, you're going to need it against us."

Avery bit the inside of his cheek as the stage woman gave him a monotonous smile and gestures to the small set of stairs that led to the large stage. He gulped as he carefully stepped on each of the stair's steps, reaching the stage fearfully. From the wings, he could spot his mother sitting in the middle of the crowd, a large smile imprinted on his face as she talked to the people sitting next to her.

Exhaling deeply, Avery slowly made his way to the middle of the stage, the backstage woman close behind as she handed him a mic and patted his shoulder, whispering a small "good luck".

Clearing his throat, Avery bit the inside of his cheek, his sweaty hands grasping the mic tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Hi," Avery widened his eyes at his squeaky, nervous voice. "Hi, I'm Avery Lawrence and I am a contestant here."

As he eyed the crowd nervously, Avery spotted his mother send him a wide smile with a thumbs up and somehow it encouraged him. He needed to see Penelope, he wanted her now.

"For this round, I was mentored by Adamos Bakirtzis—for the past month, I co-lived and experienced a temporary life as a photographer in Skopelos, Greece. A small island on the coast of the West Pelion Peninsula," Avery explained. Immediately, a projector illuminated the curtain behind him, a large collage of his photos appeared behind him.

He watched as the faces of the crowd fell, an unexpected gasp escaping their lips as they looked at the odd looking photos up on the screen. The photographs weren't the most beautiful—some were ripped, torn and worn. Some were grained or unfocused, dusted and blurry; but, the memories they held were invisible, thousands and thousands of words Avery could describe some of them. But he only had one word for those who held Penelope in them—love.

"At first, I did what every other amateur photographer would do," Avery faced his back to the audience and lifted his arms to showcase the images they slid through. "I chose an extraordinary scenery, I focused the lens of the camera, calculated the light and snapped a photo. Simple, although in reality it's quite the opposite. It took skill to get the perfect shot and then you're finished."

"But—why do we want perfection?" Avery asked, he could catch the sight of the expressions of the people in the audience; confusion. "I learned that when I traveled to Skopelos. And for a month I was mentored by a, quote on quote, constant drunk old man who reeks of cigarettes and spends his days doing absolutely nothing—yet, he taught me the lessons of imperfection. That they were the real perfection—because it's our mentality when we decipher where our limits are, or what perfection is."

"He said that a photo is not about the image; it's about the feeling. If there is no feeling to the photograph then there is nothing there to remember—photography is like memory recollection, when we look back we find an emotion that held us attached to the photo." Avery looked around in the audience's direction, surprise washing over him when he spotted a familiar blonde sitting in one of the seats on the last row. She looked identical to how she looked in Skopelos—her classic-denim overalls hugging her body with a loose white blouse, her tangled blonde hair was tousled and messy, large blue eyes filled with curiosity. In an instant, a large smile broke out in Avery's features; next to her, Adamos leaned back in his seat as the tattooed man sent an encouraging smile in Avery's direction.

"Each one of these photographs express that," Avery could feel his tone get stronger through the microphone, endless amounts of adrenaline pulsing through his veins. "Some show random bursts of happiness, others amazement or curiosity. I took photographs of the randomest of things; food, fabrics, broken whiskey glasses, pieces of a backgammon game, and a beautiful girl. But each one of those has a special memory—that specific food is called Melomakarona, a delicious cookie coated in honey and chocolate. It opened my love for honey. Those fabrics were used to build curtains for a hotel I volunteered at, the whiskey glasses were something I ran into while searching for a gecko. And the last photo..."

On the screen behind him, the photograph of Penelope and Avery appeared on the screen, they were pushed together in a side hug, Odo in between them. The memory was as clear as water for Avery, and he adored it. His gaze met with Penelope's, their eyes swirling with a whirlwind of emotions that nobody could decipher except them. Something that they didn't even need to confirm or something they needed to talk about because it was clear and evident.

"She's the girl who taught me to love honey, who explored mythology as if it was second nature," Avery smiled once he noticed the small tear slide down Penelope's cheek. "She gave me things that I could never ask for; a daughter who's actually a wild gecko, a sense of humor and so much more."

Avery grinned like he never had before, licking his lips he brought the microphone close to his lips; his tone delicate and soft as silk.

"She's the girl I fell in love with. So, I'll say it here and in front of everyone...," Avery and Penelope's gazes connected and never broke, in a never ending connection.

"I love you, Penelope."

author's note

it's finished! love tides is finally finished!

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