Chapter 5
1464 Words
Saturday had always been Ava’s favorite day of the week.
No early classes.
No rushing across campus.
No alarms before sunrise.
She allowed herself an extra hour of sleep before pulling on leggings, an oversized sweatshirt, and a pair of worn sneakers. Her hair was still damp from her shower when she wandered into the kitchen.
Chloe was sitting at the counter with her laptop open and three different notebooks spread around her.
“You’ve been awake for hours, haven’t you?” Ava asked.
“I had an idea.”
“For class?”
“For life.”
Ava laughed as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Should I be worried?”
“You should always be worried.”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
Chloe spun the laptop around.
The screen displayed a list titled Fall Bucket List.
Ava raised an eyebrow.
“You made a bucket list?”
“I made us a bucket list.”
“There’s a difference?”
“A huge one.”
Ava leaned over to read it.
Go to the pumpkin festival.
Visit the apple orchard.
Watch the sunrise.
Volunteer somewhere together.
Take pictures downtown.
Have a movie marathon.
Go hiking.
She smiled.
“I like these.”
“I knew you would.”
Chloe grabbed a pen and handed it to her.
“Pick one.”
Ava looked over the list again.
Her eyes stopped on one item.
Take pictures downtown.
“I haven’t used my camera in forever.”
“Exactly.”
“It’s probably dead.”
“Then charge it.”
“I don’t even know if it still works.”
“Then let’s find out.”
Ava thought for a moment before nodding.
“Okay.”
“Today?”
“Today.”
An hour later they were digging through the hall closet.
Boxes of old textbooks, winter coats, Christmas decorations, and forgotten keepsakes covered the living room floor.
Finally, Ava spotted a black camera bag tucked behind an old suitcase.
“There you are.”
She unzipped it carefully.
Inside sat her DSLR exactly where she’d left it nearly two years earlier.
A layer of dust covered the lens.
“I can’t believe I stopped using it.”
Chloe smiled.
“You got busy.”
“I made excuses.”
“There’s a difference.”
Ava gently cleaned the camera before plugging the battery into its charger.
“I used to take pictures every weekend.”
“I remember.”
“I thought maybe…” Ava shrugged. “Maybe one day I’d sell them.”
“You still could.”
“I don’t know.”
“You won’t know if you never try.”
Before Ava could answer, her phone buzzed.
Mason.
She smiled and answered.
“Good morning.”
“Hey.”
His voice sounded rushed.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I actually needed to ask you something.”
“Sure.”
“The internship team wants us to come in this afternoon.”
“Oh.”
“I’m really sorry.”
She immediately understood.
“You have to cancel.”
“Just today.”
“It’s okay.”
“I know we talked about spending the afternoon together.”
“We’ll do something tomorrow.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
He let out a relieved breath.
“Thank you.”
“Congratulations again.”
“I’ll call you tonight.”
“I’ll be here.”
After they hung up, Ava slipped her phone into her pocket.
Chloe had heard enough to know what happened.
“He canceled.”
“He has to work.”
“I know.”
Ava shrugged.
“It’s important.”
“It is.”
Neither of them said anything else.
Still, Chloe noticed the way Ava quietly folded the blanket she’d planned to take to the park.
She noticed because Ava always cleaned when she was disappointed.
“So,” Chloe said brightly, “looks like you’re stuck with me.”
“Oh, no.”
“I know. Tragic.”
Ava laughed.
“I suppose I’ll survive.”
They spent the afternoon wandering through downtown Willow Creek.
The historic brick buildings were decorated with hanging flower baskets, and nearly every storefront had pumpkins arranged outside for the upcoming fall festival.
Ava’s camera battery had just enough charge to last the afternoon.
She lifted it for the first time in years.
Click.
An elderly couple sharing an ice cream cone.
Click.
A little girl chasing pigeons across the town square.
Click.
A violinist performing near the fountain.
Every photograph reminded her why she’d fallen in love with photography in the first place.
It wasn’t about taking perfect pictures.
It was about capturing moments people didn’t realize were beautiful.
“You’ve got that look again,” Chloe said.
“What look?”
“The one where you’re completely in your own world.”
Ava lowered the camera.
“I forgot how much I missed this.”
“I didn’t.”
They stopped at a small café for lunch before continuing toward Riverside Park.
Families filled the walking trails while children played on the swings.
Ava wandered toward the lake, raising her camera every few steps.
As she focused on a pair of ducks gliding across the water, someone accidentally bumped her shoulder.
“Oh!”
The camera slipped from her hands.
Before it could hit the ground, another pair of hands caught it.
“I’ve got it.”
Ava looked up.
The same man from the grocery store.
Dark hair.
Gray hoodie.
Kind eyes.
For a second they simply stared at each other.
He handed the camera back carefully.
“I think this belongs to you.”
She accepted it with both hands.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
She checked the lens.
Still intact.
“I would’ve cried if it broke.”
He smiled.
“It looks well loved.”
“It used to be.”
“You take photographs?”
“I used to.”
She realized she’d answered exactly the same way she’d answered Chloe earlier.
The stranger nodded toward the lake.
“It’s a good place to start again.”
She smiled.
“I think you’re right.”
An awkward silence settled between them.
He didn’t seem uncomfortable.
Neither did she.
“I’m Ethan.”
The name sounded familiar.
Not because she’d met him before.
Because she’d heard it somewhere.
“Ava.”
“I know.”
She glanced down at her chest.
Her camera strap had her name embroidered on it.
“Oh.”
He smiled, almost amused by her embarrassment.
“I wasn’t trying to be creepy.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
A little boy ran between them chasing a soccer ball.
Ethan stepped aside to let him pass.
“I should get going.”
“Okay.”
“I’m glad your camera survived.”
“So am I.”
He nodded once before continuing down the path.
Ava watched him disappear around the curve.
Chloe appeared beside her carrying two lemonades.
“Who was that?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were talking.”
“He caught my camera.”
Chloe handed her a drink.
“And?”
“And… his name’s Ethan.”
Chloe frowned thoughtfully.
“Ethan…”
“What?”
“I feel like I’ve heard that name.”
“So have I.”
They both shrugged before continuing their walk.
Neither of them realized Ethan had slowed just enough around the next bend to make sure Ava’s camera was still safely around her neck.
Ben, who had been waiting farther down the trail, noticed the small smile on Ethan’s face.
“You finally talked to her.”
Ethan looked ahead.
“Technically.”
“What did you say?”
“I caught her camera.”
Ben laughed.
“Smooth.”
“It wasn’t planned.”
“It never is with you.”
Ethan smiled to himself.
“No.”
“It wasn’t.”
As the afternoon faded into evening, Ava uploaded her photographs onto her laptop for the first time in years.
Most weren’t perfect.
Some were blurry.
A few were overexposed.
But one image caught her attention.
It was the little girl chasing pigeons.
Her arms were stretched toward the sky.
Her face was filled with pure joy.
Ava stared at it for a long moment.
Then she smiled.
Maybe Professor Lewis had been right.
Compassion couldn’t be taught.
Neither could seeing beauty in ordinary moments.
She opened a blank folder on her computer.
Without thinking, she named it:
New Beginnings.
She had no idea that the words she’d chosen would come to mean far more than a folder of photographs.
They would become the beginning of an entirely different life.
- Writer
