Destined - Episode 3

Novella Thursdays

Chapter Two

          Sarah was a prime example of what one could accomplish if they followed their passion. Having taken pictures since before she could talk, by the time she got hired at CityScape Magazine a couple of years ago upon earning a degree in photography she had won numerous awards and had been approached by just about every major publication in the industry.

          She chose to start out her career with CityScape not because of the competitive salary, but rather the opportunity to combine her two passions; telling stories with pictures and travelling. She was a free spirit who was always happiest when on the go, capturing the best, and sometimes worst, of humankind with every new place she visited.

          The one and only negative with Sarah’s job was that its very nature was in direct opposition to her hidden desire of finding a fulfilling relationship. True love couldn’t exist without stability, nor was it guaranteed if one were to settle down and prepare for it. The thought of staying in one place and waiting for Mr. Right was as scary as never again being able to discover a new and exciting location in the world. What if she were to surrender to a stable mundane life only to wake up one morning and see in a mirror an old woman who had made the wrong decision way back when she had just began living life?

          Then again, what if she was shutting herself off from the possibility of finding true love by being too tightly wrapped up in her passion? Would a lifetime of living it be enough to accept the solitude of dying alone?

          Such contemplation oftentimes kept Sarah up at night, but she had more or less resolved to staying on the path she was currently on, while still being open to the fantasy that love might find her while she was at play behind her camera lens. Perhaps under a starry Montana sky? Or atop a bridge as she froze in time gondolas gliding through the water-filled streets of Venice?

          Such fantasies would dramatically enhance while she was tucked away within the many different hotel rooms she would stay in. A local that had somehow been awaiting her arrival, finding his way into her bed and taking her into his arms, the fresh and exciting newness of the locations outside coming to life in the sweet love he’d make to her. But his face… For some reason, that was the one thing that would remain a mystery during their union. It was like her imagination wanted to keep this detail vague. That, and the feeling that although it was a local at each location, once things started to get hot and heavy there was the feeling of it being the same person each and every time.

          The vibrating mechanism she would maneuver between her legs would open her mind to such tantalizing scenarios, and so this silicone companion would be neatly tucked away between the legs of her travel tripod as she went from one city to another.

          Sarah hadn’t been to the main office in Seattle in over a month, and as she walked down the drizzly streets of the city under her umbrella she couldn’t help but feel a little pride as she passed one newsstand after another, all stocked with CityScape’s latest issue. Prominently displayed on the cover was the shot she had envisioned to be on it. The last known image of the Metrodome. She knew when taking it that it was the one, and no matter how many times she felt that special feeling it still amazed her every time she’d see her work out in the world.

          Once in the office it took Sarah five minutes to reach her desk, her colleagues greeting her, congratulating her, filling her in on the latest.

          Just as she sat her coffee down she spotted Dennis limping her way, occasionally being stopped by a member of the staff to be asked a question or two. He was another reason she had taken the job at CityScape. Like the content within the frame of her lens, a person’s face could tell a lot if you knew what to look for, and the expressions her boss chose to carry on his from one day to the next were admirable of any great mentor. Expressions of kindness.

          An old Vietnam vet who had taken pictures during the war, the two would often converse over their shared passion while seated in his office, the medals and such hanging about that he had been decorated with for his years of military service never seizing to impress her.

‘Were you able to get your hands on a copy of the latest issue yet?’ he asked with his approaching smile.