Page 144 of My Only

Ones where I wasn’t even looking at the camera.

A warmth blossomed in my chest, spreading through me.

The rain outside pounded against the skylights, dulling the daylight into gray, but inside?

Inside, I felt sunny.

These pictures—our pictures—brought back my mother-in-law’s words from our wedding day.

“Marriage will bring you moments of joy so bright they’ll take your breath away, but it will also test you… And in those times, remember this: You are stronger together than you could ever be alone. Keep reaching for each other, no matter what. That’s how you’ll build a love that lasts a lifetime.”

I sighed, a deep pang pressing into my chest.

Back then, I had nodded, letting those words wash over me like warm sunlight.

But now? Staring at these pictures? I wasn’t so sure.

Had we already stopped reaching for each other?

I turned the dial on my camera and reclined back on the carpet.

I aimed the lens at the closet ceiling and pressed down on the shutter button, listening to one of my favorite sounds in the world.

Click.

The soft hiss of the shutter was invigorating, like the sound of a soda bottle opening.

God, I missed this.

Laying there, camera in hand, I realized it had been years since I had last really picked one up.

Before Hassani and I got married, you couldn’t see me without a camera.

It was always Ayla and her camera.

I turned onto my side, running my thumb along the camera’s body.

“Dad always said I had an eye for it…” I whispered to myself, lifting the lens to eye level.

I aimed at the racks of clothing on Hassani’s side of the closet and pressed the shutter button.

Click.

The way the soft shadows played against the walls made the shot look like something out of an editorial spread.

“Hmph.” I smiled. “Maybe I still have the eye.”

I sat up, pushing off the floor, and left the closet, snapping photos of anything and everything along the way.

By the fifth shot, my mind was racing with all the things I could capture while the daylight still lingered.

It was raining, yes, but the clouds cast these deep, moody colors across the sky.

And the skylights made everything look incredible with the way light poured in from above.

“Gosh, that’s beautiful.” I sighed, analyzing the shot I had just taken of the raindrops streaking across the skylight in our living room.

I lifted my gaze and twisted my lips to one side.

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