Photographs And Memories

Hey, Lil, can you to the studio of Mr. Lee?  His secretary said he’d be there.  I want you to personally ask him if we can do an interview for our magazine?”

“Yes, Ma’am, I’ll just get my things ready and then I’m off.”

“Good girl.”

It wasn’t hard to find the studio of one of the most sought after photographers in the country.  It was about 3:00 PM when she got there.  There were lots of people when she got there.  She heard that he was about to hold an exhibit a few days later.

“Now, how do I find him?”

She saw his pictures on the covers of magazines so she can easily recognize him but in this large room, it was a little hard to find where he is.  So she approached a woman, she presumed was his secretary.

“Excuse me, I’m Lilibeth Raymundo from Met Magazine.  I have an appointment with Mr. Lee.  Is he available now?”

“Oh, yes.  He is expecting you, Miss.  If you can just wait for a moment, he’s just talking to some clients.  You can wait here.”

“Thank you.  Umm, is it ok if I look around for a while?”

“No problem.  Help yourself.  I will inform him that you’ve arrived.”

“Thanks again.”

She found herself looking at some of his works hanging on the wall of his studio. 

“This guy is really good,” she told herself.

He was able to capture the emotions of his subjects.  His works seem to have a life of their own.  Every piece seems magical.

“No wonder that he’s made a name for himself in just a short time.”

She was clearly engrossed in looking at every photograph hanging on the walls until she found herself looking at two pictures situated in the far end corner of the studio.

They were pictures of a young girl, with long, black hair, about 7-8 years old at beach.  She was wearing a white dress, barefooted.  On the first picture, she was looking up at the sky.  On the second one, she was laying down a bouquet of red roses on shore.

“Excuse me Miss, my assistant told me that you’re from Met magazine. “

She turned around and saw the person she was looking for.  He was in his late 20’s, about 6 ft tall.  He was handsome even in person.

“Ah, yes.  I’m Lilibeth Raymundo.  My editor sent me here to confirm the interview.

“I already told my assistant to check my schedule so we can do the interview as soon as possible.”

“Thank you.  Umm, Can I ask you something?  Did you take these pictures?”

“These two?  Ah, yes, I did.  But let me tell you something, these are not for sale,” he answered, smiling at her.

“These were the first ones I’ve ever taken, I think.  It was almost 20 years ago when I took these two.”

“How?  I mean, why do you have these pictures?  Do you know this girl? ”

“Is this part of the interview?  I see that you’re pretty curious about the girl in the picture.  To be honest, I don’t know her.  I just happened to be walking in the beach, the same time she was there. You see, I was there for a vacation with my parents. I was already heading back to our room when I saw her.  She seemed like an angel against the darkness of the night.  She was so pretty but she seemed sad.  I couldn’t help myself and took several shots in a hurry.  I wanted to ask her name and take more shots but she ran away as soon as she finished carving a heart and laid the roses to the sand.”

She found herself smiling and crying as he was telling her the story behind the pictures that caught her attention.

“Hey, Miss, are you alright?”  He asked when he saw the tears falling from her eyes.

“I’m fine.  I just couldn’t help myself.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that these pictures would affect you this way.”

“No, it wasn’t your fault.  You see, 20 years ago my father died, a year after my mother passed away.  When they were still alive, my father gave my mother a bouquet of red roses every year during the anniversary of the day they first met at a beach in Batangas.  They used to take me there when I was a kid.  Before he died, my father asked me to continue what he has been doing for my mother.  He asked me to bring a bouquet of red roses every year to the place where they met.  I’ve been doing the same thing for 20 years now.”

She turned around and look at him.  She took out a picture from her wallet and gave it to him.  It was that of the girl in his photographs.  She was smiling together with a man and woman (presumably her parents).

“I am that girl in the picture.”

-April13 6/16/13-