Love Stories Over A Cup Of Coffee

Matcha

It's almost 7:30pm when I reached the gallery. The curator was at the reception when I arrived. She smiled at me immediately upon seeing me.

"P', I'm here to see..." to see, I can't even remember what am I doing here. Ah! The photo. "A photo?" How do I even explain.

She took the ticket I handed her.

"You are just in time and you are one lucky person." She smiled.

"Why P?" Why did I become lukcy all of a sudden?

"Well, today, we are exhibiting all the photos taken by the mysterious photographer. And you know what, he completed the photo." She looked happy and excited at the same time.

"Really P?! Wow! If the theory of the fan is right,  does that mean he found the person he will truly love?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure the person in the picture is special to him."Oh dear, oh dear, I'm so excited to see the photo.

"Okay, P' I'll go inside now-"

"Wait, before you go in, I want to brief you. Remember that the photographer only uses his phone, and old cameras that uses film. So, if you see a date on the photo, it means he used an old camera, if not, then it's a phone." I nodded. I never thought that in this digital age, there is still someone who wants to use filmed camera. "Also, the theory about his photos, it's just a theory, of course. But if you want to know why he exhibits his photos in pieces, you can ask him inside." WHAT?! THE PHOTOGRAPHER IS HERE?

"He's here, P?"

She nodded. "You may now go inside."

I am both excited and nervous to see the complete photo and the photographer. I have a lot of questions to ask.

As I walk the familar alley I used to walked to, I saw different photos of sceneries, things, and people. But just like my previous visits in the gallery, what caught my attention was the photo at the center. It's a photo that was put together by 4 photos. I've seen the three photos in separate exhibits. This is the first time that I've seen the three together. And now there's the fourth photo.

I was stunned. I couldn't move. I can't help but look into the photo. It brings so many emotions and questions. Why is it a photo of me? Who is the photographer? When did he take this photo? Why are my tears slowly falling?

"Did you like it?" That voice, it's P'Ohm. I saw him come from behind the photo.

"P'Ohm? What are you doing here?" I thought he's at work.

"Well, I thought you wanted to meet the photographer, here I am. And I thought you wanted to see it whole." He stood beside me. We are now both facing the photo.

I have tons of questions but I cannot say any of them. I just stood there, staring at the photo.

"You know what, this photo saved me." I looked at P'Ohm, his face is seriously, focused on the photo. "Last year, I was so pressured to exhibit my photos because of the success of my previous photos. I got so frustrated, I was not able to produce anything. One day, I decided to clean my studio and I found old films. I'm pretty sure you know what happened next, if you've seen the box already." He looked at me to check, I nodded. "I asked P'Earth and P'Mild for help to develop the photos. This photo was nicely printed. I couldn't remember when, where and how this photo was taken. But P'Mild reminded me."

"Mild?" P'Ohm smiled as he nodded.

"He said, it was a memorable day for him because it was the first time in may weeks that his friend smiled, even just for a second. He said the photo was taken when you were 14. There was a regional press conference competition in your school. And I remember, I was 13, I was dragged along by my teacher to that press conference. I was a trainee to become the school press' photographer. My teacher asked me to take photos of the event. And I remember one student asked me to take a photo of him and his friend. Then he asked me to take a photo of his friend alone. And here it is." He is still looking at the photo. "Do you know why I chose your photo?" He looked at me. He smiled when I shooked my head. "Because it is full of life. It shows the reality. You are smiling, but your eyes show sadness that is still a mystery to the eyes of the people looking at the photo. In life, we only get to see what people want us to see. The stories within, only a few lucky ones will get to know."