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shiny objects

Monday, October 11, 2004


A young man stopped me today, as I was on my way to Kung Fu practice:

"Excuse me, miss, can I take your picture real fast? For photography class?"

I turned and found myself staring into the glare of a camera lens. The boy smiled wide. He asked me again if I would mind posing for a moment. All I had to do was act natural. Naturally, I agreed.

He bid me to sit on a nearby wall and play with a cigarette, which he lit before handing to me. At first I played with the smoke, wafting it to and fro with my fingers. I heard the shutter begin to chatter but kept my eyes low and pretended that I was alone. I put the cigarette to my lips and sucked smoke into the chamber of my mouth. Then, without breathing, I opened my jaw and allowed the smoke to seep out in thick, ashen tendrils. The shutter snapped a final time.

"Perfect!" he said. "That was just PERFECT. Thank you very much. If i see you again, i'll show you the prints."

"Will the shots be in color?" I asked, running a hand absent-mindedly through my indigo hair.

The boy grinned. "Of course," he said.


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