t r o u v a i l l e | ✔️

entry 13

Ruth
17:22
19 january, 2017
India

Never in my life, would I have ever guessed that I would be in India. Or Africa, Central or South America. Nor would I have thought that I would be accompanied by a man who never failed to make my heart soar.

Nathanael was a person who undoubtedly exceeded my expectations. 

The love he had for his work went far beyond his camera as he made it a point to sit back and experience elements of every place we visited. He was by far the most unpredictable person I had ever met. Only this man would randomly decide to go paragliding and take the camera along to get shots.

We were in a small town along the outskirts of Dubai when Nathanael decided to give me the camera. Saying he would love to see how I saw the country. 

I was in the field now. Kids were a few yards down playing a game and that was my new subject. There was a boy with a black ball who stood in front of another. He performed a, surely complicated, type of windup before releasing the ball. It bounced once off the ground and was hit with the paddle. 

My jaw fell slack at the realization. They were playing cricket. I had only ever seen cricket played sparingly and I knew it had to be an intense sport because of elements that seemed quite complicated in the rules. My father spoke of playing all the time, but because my parents were in their fifties when I came along, I never got to see much of him playing.

Equip with a new enthusiasm, I took a great deal of shots. I strode around the perimeter of their field to get different angles of their game and was admittedly excited about the shots I was capturing. After about thirty minutes of just watching the game, I stood up and began to walk back to where we were staying. 

I had gotten out of sight of the kids and made my way down the dirt road while scrolling through the camera.

Slowly, a feeling eased into my gut. A frightening one that compelled my legs to move much faster. I began to check over my shoulder for someone who I thought to be following me. I sent a quick text to Nathanael asking him to make his way down the road if he could.

Moments passed and the suspicion in my stomach had yet to go away. I stopped suddenly and dread filled me. Footsteps dragged through the dirt, not bothering to conceal themselves this time. 

I stole one last glance over my shoulder and in that same moment, a pair of hands winded around my torso. The warmth that Nathanael emitted was not present. This was not Nathanael.

"Hallo,"

~

i hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season x