Sunrise and Pixie Dust

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It was sunrise; Harry's favourite moment to take photos. He liked that the light gave a particular glow to the most common of things, like the old library made of bricks in the city centre or the tiny park in the suburbs, always deserted at the crack of dawn. But what he enjoyed over anything else, was the calm, the stillness of it all.

At daybreak, Harry rediscovered the city he had grown up in. Everything looked different and the young man's purpose was to grasp these differences in a photography, to show the world how some familiar places could still hide secrets. Strangely, he had never wandered into the neighbouring woods at dawn, the same woods he claimed to know like the back of his hand. He remembered exploring them with his family as a child, when they used to picnic together. The noises of the forest were still his favourites; the wind passing through the thick foliage, the birds chirping and nesting in between the branches and the sound of his steps on the damp ground. He knew the forest and the forest knew him; Harry always felt like it was welcoming him in a warm embrace.

That day, he had decided that it was time to finally be brave and discover this place he loved dearly in the magic atmosphere of dawn.

When the young man arrived, it was still dark, but he wanted to venture deep into the woods before sunrise. Equipped with thick jeans and shoes, Harry was ready to fight the wilderness, let it be plants or animals – mostly insects that loved stinging him, leaving huge red spots behind. Once his car was parked, he retrieved his camera from his trunk, taking several lenses in his backpack. Despite his love for landscapes, he knew he would also want to take close-up pictures of flowers or whatever he would encounter on his way.

Quickly, Harry started following the narrow path leading to the edge of the woods. He could already feel his shoes sinking into the mud, but he didn't mind; the forest was muddy, and he accepted it as it was. He soon entered the woods, and hundreds of smells got to his nose — too bad he was shit at recognising them. But the smells weren't his first preoccupations: to be completely honest, the darkness made his surroundings look a little frightening. The sun would soon be rising but under the trees, almost no light could penetrate for now. The curly-haired man repressed a shiver and gathered his hair in a bun to work up the courage to keep going. He was an adventurer after all.

Minutes passed without Harry taking any picture. He did not like the light- or the lack thereof and didn't find what he was looking for; the air just feeling strange. He wasn't a coward though and soon, here he was, deep in the forest, perceiving the first rays of daylight in between the high pins and poplars. At the same time his surroundings were taking a rosy golden colour, he reached a clearing and hastened to carry his camera to his eye: he had never seen such a beautiful sky, pink and shimmery, like scattered with specks of gold. He took several photos, capturing the scenery that comprises both the halo of light behind the trees crown and the dreamlike sky.

All of a sudden, before Harry could even realize what was happening, a big gust of wind hit him, forcing him to close his eyes and take a few steps back. He could feel pinecones and leaves banging his calves and shins and the young man knelt to shield himself as well as possible. The wind kept blowing harshly, emitting a loud hurling sound as it passed through the foliage, and Harry couldn't open his eyes for some time before it finally weakened. His ears were whistling a little but except for that he appeared to be alright. Never before had he experienced a wind so brutal coming out of nowhere.

When he opened his eyes again, a weird feeling sat on his stomach. At first glance, everything seemed to be normal, but Harry knew better: something was off. The trees were still standing high above him, the muddy ground was still covered with leaves, and the sky was still pink and beautiful, yet the man felt like he was standing in a whole new place.