Moonlight Minx

It's the sun's fault that Harry's in this predicament.

He shouldn't have gotten distracted, but it's often the case when he's chasing the perfect image through the viewfinder of his Canon EOS M50; time becoming an unrelatable construct as it ebbs away far too quickly.

His feet pound the concrete as he speeds towards the wharf. The last ferry leaves in less than five minutes and he's pretty sure he can make it, but he's cutting it fine.

Maybe the captain or deck hands will see him and wait. Maybe they won't and then he'll be stranded and have to pay for a water taxi.

"Fuck."

The sandstone cliff rises up beside him, towering high and almost surreal in its grandeur, coloured wavy lines tinged in yellows and pinks, marking the passage of time. It passes by in a blur though as Harry jogs along the abandoned dock. Strands of loose hair that have escaped from under his sunglasses whip against his forehead and are momentarily trapped in his eyelashes before he blinks them away.

He's always taken pride in his fitness, sculpting his body to how he likes it; not too muscly and not too lean, just somewhere in between; serviceable, strong, purposeful. Right now, he's thankful for his stamina, but his backpack is weighing him down and his camera bag is slamming into his side with every other footfall, making the journey harder than it should be.

The corner of the cliff comes into view. It's not long now. He can do this.

Harry ups his pace, pushing through the burn in his calves and thighs. He swings his camera bag around to his front and uses one arm to clutch it tightly to his chest as he pumps his other arm for momentum and balance.

He hasn't seen anyone else on the island since just after lunch and it gives the place an extra eerie feel. The campsite was packed down when he'd walked past earlier on his way to get a better vantage point for his shots of the bridge; the Sydney Harbour Bridge to be exact.

He'd kept to himself for most of the day, keenly aware that his time was limited and that he needed to focus; AirPods in and his playlists blocking out anything that could distract him from his objective. Maybe the other campers had simply been out enjoying other parts of the island or had left on a ferry after they'd had to vacate their campsites at 1pm.

Harry marvels once more at the location of the island. It's the most surreal thing, to be on an island in the middle of this iconic harbour, but to feel so far away from civilization at the same time. A UNESCO World Heritage Site at the junction of the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers in Sydney Harbour, Cockatoo Island is forty acres of decommissioned dockyard, now operating as a tourist and historic site, and for special events. There had even been a Justin Beiber concert held on the island back in 2015.

The island paints an almost haunting picture of what once was; abandoned sheds with cartoonishly large machinery, peeling paint revealing rusted skeletons, their usefulness long since deemed obsolete in this modern world; imposing graving docks, now no more than dormant graveyards for discarded livelihoods with the ghosts of the ships and workers alike inhabiting the empty spaces; windows rendered paneless, allowing entrance to the unforgiving elements; rafters finding new purpose as homes for the pigeons and swallows; shadows filling the long expanses of stained concrete where strong men once toiled for long hours and little pay.

It's been Harry's first visit, but he knows it won't be his last. The entire place is a photographer's wonderland and he has definitely taken advantage of every moment he's spent here.

Unfortunately, it's the every moment bit that's landed him in his current situation.

He knew he'd be cutting it fine, but he had wanted to get one last shot inside one of the massive sheds on the other side of the island before he departed. It was all set up, the image framed perfectly. He'd just needed the sun to move slightly across the sky to cast a beam of light at a particular angle. That's all it was, but the sun refused to move to cooperate with his timeline.