A NEW DAWN

 

Amina stared at the building for a long time, hesitant for the first time in her life. She would usually barge in there, take notes and then make some drafts about her new inspiration. Learning from the works of other great photographers used to be a huge deal, but now they were not.

Now, her mother was sick and she would need better income. The freelance gigs and little jobs she usually goes for would no longer serve her. She needed something big, something that would push her to the edge of success, and she didn’t see it coming.

 “Are you coming in?” someone asked.

She startled at the voice. It was a tall, handsome man. She wasn’t sure he was handsome, though, since his face was fully bearded and dyed grey. He smiled at her.

“Are you trying to gauge my age through my appearance?” he asked.

“What?” Amina shook her head firmly. “No, no.”

“No? Interesting. Lots of people do that, you know. It gives them something to talk about. The weird man with the weird aesthetics, they say.”

She said nothing. There was nothing to say because he was definitely acting weird.

“Sorry?” she offered.

He brushed her words away. “No it’s fine. Are you coming inside, though? What are you, an artist?”

 “A photographer,” she answered.

“Really?” he grinned at her. “Perfect. You should take a picture; it’ll last longer.”

She stared at him, confused. When he gestured to himself, Amina’s embarrassment rose. She had been staring at him for far too long.

“That’s not it,” she hurried to say. “I was just looking for inspiration!”

“Inspiration?” he cocked his head to the side. “There’s inspiration in everything. There’s inspiration in you.”

He started to walk up the stairs. Amina immediately raised her camera to her eye angle to take a picture. He was weird. She would tuck this day at the back of her mind, always reminding herself of the stranger who had strangely inspired her. She might even get to publish it. A new beginning, she would name it.