After Life

32

I groaned loudly, making a point of being noisy enough that he could hear my frustration. Although I was being difficult with him, turning the tables on him as such with my grumpy mood, I was smiling at his persistence.

We decided to do my original plan; a simple walk around the city, shooting Harry blending in to the crowds of New York.   He said he liked that idea, because it wasn't like he was on display. He liked the fact that in a city like New York, you would literally disappear within a crowd. There were so many people, so many stories, and no matter what yours, you didn't stand out. You didn't look out of place.

We wandered towards mid-town, no specific destination in mind. The streets were busy, people seemingly determined to enjoy the first somewhat nice day we had had all week. In contrast to the endless amount of snow we had endured lately, today could almost be counted as spring.

It was the end of March, April right around the corner, and it was almost as though spring was looking to try and fight through the hold of winter. The snow and slush remained on the ground, but there wasn't a chill in the air that had been there before. It was like a little spark of hope to escape the frigid cold.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Harry asked, his head bowed low. His hands were buried deep in his pockets, his pace matching my own despite his long legs.

I glanced around, seeing if there was anything in particular I wanted to shoot him against within range. "Just walk," I said. "I know you don't like knowing when I take your picture. So just walk around. I will fall a step or two behind you, or try and shoot you without you knowing."

"Now I'm going to be on edge anticipating it," he teased smirking at me with a side eye glance.

"No you wont," I countered. "You didn't notice half the time last time we shot."

Harry nudged my shoulder with his own playfully, as we continued our wander.

And I was right. Three hours later, we had walked all the way up to Central Park, along the paths, and meandered the streets of the city, and he had only caught me taking his picture twice. I was getting better at noticing his changes, the subtle differences in him that made it clear his mind was elsewhere. Those moments made it easy for me to slip from his side undetected, but were also the ones where the expression on his face was most pure. His head would be down, almost as if he was hiding within himself as he walked. For such a tall, striking man, he hid himself away frequently. Probably without ever knowing, or meaning to. It was almost like a habit he had created, that went hand in hand with his emotional tendency of locking himself away. It seemed to have manifested into a physical display as well.

By shortly after three that afternoon, I had taken over a hundred images, and was excited with what I felt we had produced. Unlike the last time we had shot, Harry seemed more relaxed, not as on edge. I wasn't sure if that was because he knew what to expect this time, or because we were more comfortable with each other. Once in a while he would ask to see what I had taken so far, but the moment I held the camera up, he would change his mind. It would have been humorous, if I hadn't known the confliction was based on his own self dislike.

I had given up shooting any more images for the day, deciding now to let Harry relax without wondering when the next click of the camera would come. He had been amazing all day, not once trying to start a fight, and never once complaining. We walked through the paths of the park, the tall trees hanging over our heads still coated in glistening snow, the bright sun reflecting and glittering off the branches.