Weekly writing challenge - A story based on the picture!

Driving through the erratic traffic in the rush hours can be really tiring and frustrating.  I was trying my best to drive through and somehow reach the coffee shop on time, where my friend lily was waiting for me. Hello! I am Sonam, an amateur photo journalist, trying to cover interesting stories with my photographer friend, who was fuming in paranoia waiting for me.  Interesting sights is what inspires us; while she tries to capture them all, I try to build a story around it.

We work in tandem and are now planning to do a website together, a simple project of her visions and my words, our lovely togetherness. Sweet!

So, running 30 minutes late, as I try to drive through the wee hour traffic, before I know I am glued to something! Something which is as simple, but it’s worth a 1000 words.  Just on the left of me was a children’s park and I couldn’t help but notice this little girl leaning against a merry-go-round, unmoved and lost in her thoughts.  

Suddenly my head got loaded with thoughts and I could hear voices” My god! A child so small, what could she probably be thinking so deep? I mean; look at her -has she lost someone, is she looking out for someone or something? Ooh ooh wait! I think I should capture this moment immediately and just then and I am shaken by a loud honk coming from behind. I look back and there a furious 40 something  man yelling his lungs out “ hey lady this ain’t a car park aright!”

Ahhhhh! Fineeeee hold up man, I shout back and just before I could jump start the ignition, I quickly capture her image with my cell and drift my car in excitement and swoosh I take off.  Whoa! I guess I just kicked the butt of a sweet short story, well hello there!  As I was talking to myself being induced by awe-of-the-moment, I had almost reached outside the café.

 Usually we met at the same café which had a very rustic feel with wooden furniture and typical brass cutlery, which hasn’t been replaced since years. But the amazing brewed coffee and pastries covered it all. As I creaked opened the door I was greeted by a fuming friend, as expected.  What I didn’t expect was a loud scream which followed “What the hell took you so long?”

I ran and stamped my palm on her lips before she could yell anymore and there would be a dramatic scene which people around could talk about.

But before I could say a thing I pulled out my cell and presented her the playground picture of the girl in excitement “ tadaaaaa! Lookie what I’ve got! So now that we are already sorted with a picture, and now that I stepped into your shoes, you could treat me with a brownie or something, you know”

“A Brownie? What for?  “, exclaimed lily in surprise.

Uuh? The picture, this, this very picture, which we could use for a story”

“Dude! Can’t you see what I see, look at the girl man; she’s so sad and helpless and lost. I could just build and amazing gloomy tale around it. And for all you know, it might be published, coz I’ve got so many words in my head right here right now and…

Before I could go on she interrupted me. “so you just randomly took a picture of this girl?

Yeah! I replied. That park around the corner, I spotted her there while I was driving pass the park, I was so amazed at this site, I just had to capture it.”

Lily looked dumbfounded for a moment and then “ ahaaa! I know exactly what you mean. Well on that note let me tell you. You saw this girl ‘helpless’ as you put it or ‘sad’ or ‘lost’ and you didn’t have the courtesy to just park your car and see what’s going on”

I interrupt “bbb but but”

Lily went on “Well for all you know she must have lost her parents while playing and there was no one around to guide her or she was looking for someone or something…any any thing man. “ Lily’s tone was rising by the minute as she was throwing around her arms in the air while shouting.

“So you saw the girl, you saw her sadness, but you didn’t wanna help. The poor girl seemed like an object and it didn’t even occur to you that mayyyybeee you could just go and see why that little girl seems so much in pain. Great! I must say you have some passion for your stories.

I try to interrupt her again as she gets up and gushes out her anger once again “ wait I have no grudges against you, and this wouldn’t affect our friendship also, but just to tell you what I feel, you wanted a story, you have a story! You can build whatever amazing sobbing tale around it, but this one, I am not with you. Not because I am dying out of sorrow, but just that I thought you could have been a little more human and tried to help instead of treating her as a medal for your glorifying career. Who knows she absolutely fine as well and maybe her parents were around? But just if you tried to find, it would’ve helped someone” and she stormed out throwing her backpack around her shoulders

While I sat there dumbfounded trying to figure out what exactly went wrong - was it my delay or was I really mean. Being lost in transit, my eyes went across the room to find out a guy sitting across the table and recording me. .“ hey you! I threw a spoon across in anger as the guy freaked out and ran away and I just sat there with my arms folded and eyes weary and stuck at one direction, feeling helpless  just like that girl in the park!