Between Then & Now || Currently Editing for Wattys 2022

50.

My reflection smiles back at me in the lens of the camera, the ring light right now to it shining into my eyes. After making sure everything's set up and the camera's rolling, I step back into the makeshift backdrop I had constructed from a black sheet.

I have no idea exactly what I'm going to say. Where I'm going to start. I have a script roughly drawn out but if I'd learned anything over the summer, it's that things don't usually go as planned - if you're lucky, at least. But I know that, whatever comes out of this little spiel I'm about to give will be what actually needs to be said.

In the kitchen, I can hear pots banging together, and I know my mother's cooking again. She's been taking more time off of work lately, having finally hired an assistant to take some of the work off her shoulders. So, she's been cooking a lot alongside finalizing Tata's funeral. Kitchen magic, she says. We all need some healing around here. I just smiled, because, even if her magic doesn't work on me, it seems to be working on her. And, everything that's happened, that works for me.

I smile into the camera, and look down at my phone, dialing a very specific number. The phone rings in my ear once, twice, then-

"Ola," Dr. Walker's voice crackles through from the other end of the line. "How are you doing?"

I smile. "Better. Still healing. But better," The red light on my camera blinks as I set it to record. "Actually, I'm calling you about finally making that documentary we talked about."