Parched

July 9, 2025
 

Six Months Earlier…


A colored pencil drawing of a dry desert scene with cracked earth, a faint lake mirage on the horizon, and a half-buried tripod in the foreground under muted light.

I woke up with grit in my mouth.
Could’ve been sand. Could’ve been teeth.
No moisture. Tongue stuck to the roof. Nothing there to help it.

I swallowed air. It didn’t work.

Somewhere ahead—rushing water. Loud, too loud.
Didn’t match the world around it.
No mist, no wetness. Just the sound.

The rocks under me looked like they’d been shaped by centuries of current.
They were bone dry.

A waterfall poured in the distance.
Except it didn’t.
It moved, but the droplets didn’t fall. They just hung there, shimmering, flickering.

My body got up before I decided to.
Legs moved. Eyes lagged behind.
The light hurt. Not bright. Just wrong.

I raised my hand—just to see, maybe to block.
Two shadows fell.
I don’t know whose the second one was.

In front of me: a tripod, sunken, no camera. Just the plate.
It looked familiar. I didn’t want to say how.

The wind shifted sideways. Or maybe it didn’t.

I moved toward the tripod.
It felt like reaching through air that remembered being water.

The waterfall glitched. That’s the only word that fits.
It stuttered once and became a lake.
Not closer. Not farther. Just there. A surface. No reflection. Just... blank.

I stepped forward, thirsty. Not just dry—but forgotten.
Like I didn’t remember how to drink.

A sharp crack under my foot. Plastic.
I dug it out.

A lens cap.

On the inside:
f/0.0 — shutter stuck
Scratched in, almost angry.

I didn’t like that.

I looked up. The lake hadn’t moved.
But it was farther now.
Or I was smaller.

And then I saw it.

A reflection. Not in the lake.
Just near it.
Standing still. Upright. Watching. Like it knew I was about to try again.

Click.

No camera.

But something wanted to remember anyway.

Leave A Comment

Fill out the form above to leave a comment. Your email address will not be posted and is never shared!
If you can read this, don't fill out the following 3 fields.

Name
Email Address
Comment
 
Thank you for leaving a comment! Your comment has been posted.
Thank you for leaving your comment. Your comment is currently awaiting approval from the administrator.
There was an error with adding your comment

Comments

No one yet! Be the first and fill out the form above.
 

Stay Updated!

Subscribe with your name and email to receive exclusive access to new photo releases, updates on our latest projects, and behind-the-scenes content directly to your inbox.

Thank You!

Thank you for subscribing! Stay tuned for exclusive updates and exciting new content.

 
Loading More Photos
Scroll To Top
Close Window
Loading
Close