My Own Peter Pan

Recently I spent some time reflecting on some moments from the last several months that I wished I had posted about. Then it hit me: Silly Emily! Blogs don't have to be chronological! Just because I didn't write about something immediately doesn't mean I've missed the chance. In fact, I've had longer to mull over those moments, to understand more fully their significance, to make connections that would have been less obvious at the time. Not to worry. That said, unless something significant happens, I'm going to go back in time for at least a few posts. Today's significant memory is the story of a photograph I took.

My parents and I were eating in an outdoor market in Tepoztlan, Mexico. It was the sort of market that moves from place to place each day, so it's roofed completely with tarps. It was raining and water came in at the oddest and most unexpected places. Sometimes you'd find a spot to stand or sit or walk where it seemed dry, and presently a new leak would spring right above you. We were seated on narrow metal benches at a narrow metal table eating ridiculously delicious food. Across from us, there was a big building with a sort of covered porch. Three street musicians were sitting there playing, and they caught my attention. One of them specifically, a young man who I thought was beautiful. I don't use that word in the sense that I typically would (i.e., "Karl Urban is a beautiful man"...*swoon*). I mean that he was simply beautiful, like Peter Pan. I can't think of any other way to say it. I pulled out my camera, ostensibly to "take a picture of the musicians," but really so that I would have an image of this boy who so intrigued me. 

Much to my horror, the battery was dying. Desperate to get at least one shot before it was gone completely, I snapped a picture. Didn't worry about framing the shot, letting it focus, anything. Literally within one second of taking it, the camera shut off and wouldn't come back on. I didn't even get a chance to see the picture. I put the camera away and hoped against hope that I'd ended up with something passable. 

Having left the battery charger in Mexico City, I had to wait several days before I could charge the camera and see what I'd managed to capture. I didn't realize in the moment that he had seen me. It's not a great picture, aesthetically speaking, but it's exactly what I wanted. More, really, because the look on his face is perfect. Instead of just getting a shot of what he looked like, I feel like I got a little piece of his personality here.