The Cafe

It was the month before Christmas, 16 November 2024 at 16:04. Where the chill still gave autumn's touch. When the darkness would come at 16:19, and the Christmas music would play in the cafe, bringing with it a convivial atmosphere, it sounded strange and foreign; but whole and familiar.

Relaxing

The music kept us lounging; we felt at home, when outside looked too cold and bleak. We liked that the cafe barely had anyone inside, only the workers who must’ve been standing all day, and of course; the two seated on the right who weren’t in frame.

This photo conjures lamentation though, both while I was taking the picture and after admiring how professional it had looked.

Fear grounded me into dust. Greater than the sweetness of the cake we ate that left crumbs —shown on my plate while my husband's plate hid behind my cup of hot chocolate. Robbed of marshmallows, we did not ask for.

Trepidation buttered me up. It stole the memory I should’ve had, one of leisure and bonding. Will this be a picture we could look at when we acquire grey hairs?

When I look at this photo, I think, gone are the happy times, even though they were still around. I thought, how can this moment be at the peak of perfection, what have I done to deserve it?

When my thoughts are ocean deep and I love this hard, and I let myself be taken up by a moment. It leads to thoughts like:

Moment taken

How I fear his death. His cup was almost empty and mine barely touched. I wondered if this meant that he would be the first one to go. Then it looked as if his clothing was hung on a hanger or he had morphed into a chair… and I was just there all alone. We looked like ghosts, and I suppose we were; we hate being in photos.

This was also the day we had gone to the coast. The day I saw that the ocean and the sky blend into one by the misty paint brush, no lines separated them and it looked like we were already taken up into the clouds.

How grim were those thoughts…

Hope found

If you zoom in, the lines were there and it counts as a little glimmer of something else. A moment to reflect on how important it is to value each other; and even though the lines between negative and positive were blurred, we could build a mountain of memories above it.

If you look closely at the black clothing, you could see at the right and left of his arms, the chair he was sitting in was also black. Hidden from the naked eye by the blur of the portrait feature I chose to take the picture with.

You could even see the steam rise from the cup, a sure sign that the moment was just as alive as autumn was, alive as the road and the sounds of the cars could be heard rushing or speeding to the stop light.

Ending thoughts

• What makes the moment meaningful?

This moment was meaningful because it reminded me that trusting isn’t so bad.

It reminds us of how far we’ve come and how strong and intentional we had to be.

That even though some things do, just happen. We do have to put work in, to keep it all together:

Our marriage.

Our friendship.

*

You would never believe this.

One of my biggest dreams when we met was to be able to get out of bed — to sit with him —to surprise him. But I was too ill so he had to come to me.

Now here we were.

• Why did you choose to capture it?

I wanted us to remember the importance of taking time by the neck, so we could enjoy ourselves while we are still healthy.

It was a reminder that even though we are introverts, if we try hard enough; we could find a place where we could feel right at home. Away from home.

Relax in moments taken, where hope is found in ending thoughts -Caitlin Charlton

A/N : Thank you so very much for reading 🙏🏽♥️