Pandora ✔️

Mummy Dearest

The sultry voice of Nat King Cole echoed through the room while you tenderly developed some photographs. It had been far too long.
This was zen, doing what you loved, and taking a moment to see your vision come true. You'd spend most of the morning outdoors by the pier, capturing moments of people in their most intimate time with their loved ones.

The weather was lovely, the warmest day of the year according to forecasters so why not emerge yourself with work. Jungkook was doing the same.

With a pair of tweezers in hand, you lightly nudged the pre-soaked photograph. You frowned at the appearing image. Two kids sharing a small ice cream cone. They were out of focus and you squinted at your poorly capturing.
Grunting slightly, you glanced at the image, waiting patiently for the full image to showcase itself. Moreover, the idea of two kids enjoying a cold treat on a warm day did not strike you as a fitting photo for your collection.

The theme was despair and neither of those kids seemed to fit the aesthetic of it. In fact, one was smiling broadly as he held the cone while the other licked the chocolate ice cream. Despite the cuteness of the picture, you wondered what possessed you to capture this moment.

Then as the thought crossed your mind, a figure behind the kids appeared. You narrowed your gaze as you leaned closer; a woman, assumingly the kids' mother and unlike them, she did not seem too ecstatic. The kids were unfocused and at the forefront of the photograph whilst their mother was in the back, fully in focus, counting the remaining pennies in her palm.

You halted as the image developed and the grey tones of it sent a clear message of despair. However, this one spoke volumes. It wasn't just despair but sacrifice; the kind only a parent would know. Exhaling softly, you eyed the photograph for a minute longer, admiring your ability to catch humanity so unintentionally before you added the stop bath and fixer.

➰

As you finished developing the last images on your film, you began hanging them to dry when a knock on your door caught your attention.
As you opened it, you were met by a large smile and a sudden embrace.

       "Darling," the sound of your mother's cheerful voice rimmed at your ear as you gingerly reciprocated the hug.

       "Mum, what are you doing here?"

       "A mother can't visit her daughter?" she rhetorically asked as she walked inside your apartment, "You need a phone," you heard her utter as you closed the door.

       "I do have a phone, mum."

       She pouted while placing her Louis Vuitton bag on your kitchen counter, "Are you sure? Silly me, you would think if your daughter had one, she'd call more often," your mother scoffed before unbuttoning her white blazer, "So," she continued, "How are you?"

       "I'm alright."

       You caught her gazing around your apartment when she finally voiced, "Don't you clean?"

       Tilting your head lightly, "I wasn't expecting company," you said as you folded your arms, "Why the surprise visit?"

       "Well, if you knew how to answer your phone," she calmly said as she inspected the kitchen counter with her fingertips, "Honestly, what's the point of your father and I providing you this apartment if you can't keep it clean."

       "I'll make some coffee," you dismissively scoffed as you walked over to the kitchen.

       "Don't you have something stronger?"

       You halted as you glanced at your mother, "It's 1 PM."

       She swiftly then opened your freezer and grabbed an icy cold bottle of vodka, "Like mother, like daughter," she winked at you.