Out of Focus #SYTYCW15 Top10 Finalist! [COMPLETED]

5| Home Sweet Home

Marshall leaned against the rail, gaze stretching out over the sun-dappled water, and smiled. He dragged in the salty brine of ocean as the ferry ploughed towards the dock, people pushing in around him, readying to disembark. As May rounded in to June, tourist season was now kicking in. The beaches would be thick with families and greased bodies soaking up the brilliant summer sun, dogs clamouring in pounding surf. The air ripe with sunscreen, hotdogs and salt.

Haven Island was a perfect little oasis on one of the most beautiful coasts in the world. With a moderate climate, the seasons gave way to warm summers and mild winters. Home to twelve thousand inhabitants, the local town of Salt Springs stood as the central hub driving the economy. It had grown and changed shape from his days as a boy, and now had everything from shopping to cuisine, amenities to art galleries, thriving farmlands and some of the most striking beaches this side of the Pacific.

The last time he'd been home was about this time last year, and before that...too damn long, he thought. His visits were short and not often enough. Always dragged away by the call of a story, out into the muck and mire. Marshall worked the muscle above his right shoulder with his hand, massaging and kneading the ache from the joint. He itched for the release of meds but didn't want to cave to the weakness. Not when they dulled his mind. Took away his keen edge of observation, a journalist's prime asset. And even though he wasn't facing off with a jaded senator or gun-toting religious supremacist, he preferred to maintain a sharp mind.

Anxious to get off the boat, LeBron leapt up at his side, tongue lolling out and paws folding over the rail. Marshall scratched the sweet spot behind his ears.

Danni had given him a week to find something, and his sister dropped an intriguing ball right into his lap. While LeBron dropped down to wind around him in spastic, impatient circles, Marshall thumbed through his blackberry for his text conversation with his younger sister. After his mother had called a couple days ago, he'd kept close tabs on the trending hype, surprised to see that interest in Faces of Haven was continuing to spike.

According to his mom, his sister had gone into business with one of Haven's more recent acquisitions. Eva Turner, single mom of three girls. A quiet and surly sort, or so he'd warned. But talented, a fact he had ascertained for himself after scoping out her work online, both on her website and those that had circled the world in a viral frenzy. Her work was of people, but always non-descript. She stuck with features: eyes, mouths, hands, and paired the images with select bits of information. Secrets. Some dark and harrowing, the sort of things people kept buried deep inside.

He imagined the idea behind the art was that by looking at these images, uncovering these secrets, people found a connection within themselves. Creating an intimate connection between the owner of the secret and the one who owns the image.

All images were one of a kind, with no reprints or reproductions-no matter how much someone is willing to pay-and the secret is sold with the image. It can be shared with no one or everyone; the choice rested with the person who made the purchase. Apparently no one had elected to do so, until now. That person being Sam Russell's fiancée, no less. And-boom-just like that, Out of Focus was now an overnight, viral success. There were sure to be reporters and journalists already on the ground clamouring for details, but only Marshall had his foot in the door with an interview scheduled for today at noon.

And by the time he was finished Out of Focus Gallery would launch into the stratosphere.

Securing a car rental near the dock, Marshall contented himself with a short drive through town, admiring the new sprawling neighbourhoods and housing developments. Window down, LeBron's head stuck out in tongue wagging glory, he pulled up to his eldest brother Ethan's place. Throwing the car into park he opened the passenger door and let the dog out first.