The Distance

Lost in Japan

He fixed his analog camera lenses, while his ears perked up to the buzzing sound of his surroundings. He set the ambience and the light before squinting one of his eyes and took a deep breath. Clicked. He looked at his masterpiece with a little grin plastered on his face. Gorgeous.

He looked up to see the object of his masterpiece. It was gone. The baby blue parakeet was gone. He pursed his lips as he walked down the street. He scanned the next possible object that he would add to his collection. The red wooden ramen house was covered by a couple of red curtains with kanji plastered all over it. A tasty smoke flew from its entrance. Typical.

He peered at a little kid who was eating a candy floss. Cute. He took a nonchalant click but satisfied nonetheless. He wondered why none of these moving objects attracted him, moreover enticed his instinct to capture the moment and kept in his endless collection.

The feeling wasn't there to begin with. He clicked his tongue as he slung the camera's strap over his neck. Bored.

The spring breeze swayed his dark locks, and his cheeks slashed by the biting winter leftovers. He put his hands inside his jeans pocket as he observed the walking path that was meant for tourist attraction. Sakura. Finally, he could see the cherry blossom path that was always painted wonderfully in every anime he used to watch since he was a kid.

The path was perfect for taking a picture of your life. The vibe was magical the more he spent his time. He focused his lenses to the nearest tree and the clicking sound was satisfying to his ears. He smiled at the picture; the falling leaves were perfectly in time; it was picturesque, almost painting-like. Perfect.

He snapped his head, prepared to take another picture, but his forehead creased as he saw a back facing his point of view, someone stood in front of his cherry blossom tree. He took a quick shot at the stranger's back. He was curious, would it be a good picture if the person turned around? Or just left it this way? He contemplated for a few seconds. Challenge.

"Oi...!" he called out.

The person turned around and he clicked his camera right on the spot. Enthralling.

She blinked a few times before realizing what he was doing. "Nani?"

His lips stretched into a silly grin at the picture he took. This was the enthralling one he was looking for.

***