You held the camera up, looking through the viewfinder to make sure you were getting the absolute perfect shot you could get, pressing the button and snapping a photo of the beautiful ocean, smiling proudly to yourself. You set your camera down, leaning back and taking in the beautiful scenery before you had to move on.
The sound of walking filled your ears and you perked up, looking down towards the beach. It wasn't uncommon for children to play by the water or have picnics nearby, but you'd thought you were completely alone on this alcove.
A girl was walking along the sandy shore, pulling her skirts up so she could walk barefoot in the water. Her hair was the brightest red you'd ever seen, and she seemed caught up in her own little world.
Quietly, you pulled out your camera and pointed it in her direction. You were far enough away that when the camera made its usual click to let you know it got the image, she couldn't hear it. You snapped a few more, before realizing you were late to meet someone. You scooped up all of your stuff, hesitating a moment watching the girl look out at the ocean. There was something so weird and unique about her.
You shook the thought out of your head as you hurried back in the direction toward town.
Ever since that strange encounter by the ocean, you'd found yourself returning to that spot more and more. At first, you weren't really sure why. You'd photographed tons of people and places, all just as beautiful as the last. You'd never had such an intense desire to return to them though. What was so different about this place? About that girl with the red hair?
Much to your disappointment, every time you returned, she was nowhere to be seen. You should've spoken to her that first time, now you might never get the chance. You longed to know what she'd been doing that day.
One warm morning, you were about ready to give up and pack your things up to go home when once again she appeared again. She was just as beautiful and stunning as the first time you'd seen her. It was almost an otherworldly beauty.
"Miss." You scrambled to your feet, determined not to squander your second chance, gathering your things. She looked up, surprised to see someone else. She'd clearly assumed she was all alone on the beach.
"Miss." You said breathlessly as you ran across the beach to her, bending over to catch your breath. She tilted her head slightly as she waited for you to continue what you were going to say. You straightened up, reaching into your bag and pulling out the pictures of her you'd taken before.
You held the photos out to her.
"I saw you a while ago. You were so pretty; I hope you don't mind I took these photos. I know it's strange." You explained to her and she took the photos, curious.
She looked them over, flipping through them again and again. She smiled up at you.
"I wanted to ask... What's your name?" You twisted the handle of your bag, anxiously awaiting the answer. The smile had been on her face, slowly slid away, replaced by a frown that you hated to say was just as beautiful. You were starting to believe she could make anything beautiful.
She pointed at her throat and shook her head.
"You can't talk?" You asked, disappointedly. She shook her head again, smiling sadly. You smiled back at her, shrugging.
"That's okay. My name is (Y/n). Would you mind if I took more photos? I think you're really beautiful and I... I just like to photograph beauty, you know." You held your camera up and she nodded, turning back to the water.
The two of you spent most of the day playing in the water, you taking photos when you could. You even showed her how to use the camera herself, she snapped a pretty good picture of the water. It was probably your favourite picture to ever be taken with that camera.
As the day was coming to a close, she gently took the camera from you holding it up to face you. You tilted your head slightly, watching as she snapped a shot of your confused expression. You took the camera gently out of her hands, looking up at her.
"You know this camera only has a certain amount of film; I can't waste it on things like taking photos of myself." You explained gently to her. She pointed to herself, then the ocean and finally, you. It took you a moment to understand exactly what she was trying to tell you.
"You think I'm beautiful too?" You asked, feeling heat pool in your face. No one had ever said anything like that about you before.... Or gestured it.
She nodded, smiling slightly. You smiled back at her, looking down at your watch. Crap, you had to get back home soon. You leapt to your feet packing all your things together. You held out the photos of the mysterious girl to her.
She pushed them back to you gently, pointing to you. You tucked them back in your bag.
"I'll see you around?" You asked hopefully. She climbed to her feet as well and nodded. You didn't want to say goodbye but there really wasn't any other way. You turned to walk back up the way you came, turning as you reached the tree line, watching as the mysterious redhead played some more in the water.
She really was something.
