Echoes of Us

Thirteen

Harrison slowly sank down onto the stairs, staring blankly at the picture frame as the weight of his realisation settled over him.

His mind whirled, piecing together what had just happened. Could he really have altered the past? Could something so small, so seemingly insignificant, change everything?

His gaze remained fixed on the frame, the polished glass gleaming faintly in the dim light. The frame had never fallen, which meant they never needed to replace it.

That meant...the camera had never existed here, with him.

His choices had changed the past, he knew that much now. The picture frame was proof, tangible and real.

The absence of the camera gnawed at him. It was too easy for the camera to simply vanish the way it had, even if he had changed the past.

But if it wasn’t here, then where was it?

A knot formed in his stomach as the realisation crept in.

Just because he had changed his path didn’t mean the camera was gone. It was out there somewhere. The question was… with who?

For a moment, his thoughts drifted to the people around him, old man Frank, the neighbours, even strangers at the garage sale.

Had the camera fallen into the hands of someone else?

Suddenly, sitting there didn’t feel like an option anymore. He needed to find the camera, to figure out where it had gone.

Standing up, Harrison made his way to front door, the urge to talk to old man Frank outweighing any other rational thought in his mind.

As he reached down to open the door, he froze.

He remembered old man Frank's reluctance in giving them the camera in the first place. What if he didn't want to talk to him?

He wasn't exactly the easiest person to talk to, and with their past interaction now nullified, what if he dismissed him as just another odd neighbour? The thought made him hesitate, his hand still on the door knob.

He could picture Frank's furrowed brow, the way his eyes narrowed in suspicion at anyone who approached him.

What if he turned Harrison away? What if he never learned the truth about the camera’s whereabouts?

The urgency of the situation clashed with the reality of facing a man who had no reason to trust him.

Pushing all those thoughts away, Harrison opened the door and stepped out, making his way to old man Frank's house.

He needed answers.

As he approached Frank’s yard, the familiar sight of the neatly trimmed grass and flowerbeds brought a mix of nostalgia and anxiety.

He remembered the moments he’d seen Frank tending to his lawn every Friday morning, the old man a steadfast presence in their neighbourhood.

He paused at the edge of the driveway, glancing up at Frank’s front porch.

The light coming from inside cast the old man’s shadow against the window as he moved around in his house.

A knot formed in Harrison's stomach, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was intruding.

With each step toward the front door, Harrison rehearsed his words in his mind.

“'Hi, Frank, I know this sounds strange, but I’m looking for a camera…' no, that wouldn’t work. I need to sound more casual."

He raised a hand to knock, hesitating again as uncertainty crept in.

What if Frank dismissed him without a second thought? What if he refused to help?