Her photographs were her life. She loved the way a single ‘click’ could capture the essence of someones soul. To her, the glossy paper was a stolen moment in time. One day it was one of these pictures that changed her life.

You could say that it all started on a brisk fall day when she was in the park. This was her favorite time of the year. Each bright color glowed in the sun making a perfect setting for a photo-shoot. An empty, beautiful forest lay before her a with each photo she took she went deeper into the tall trees. Soon she came upon a clearing. It was empty - almost. In the center lay a boy, sixteen maybe seventeen. The rays that soaked through the leaves surrounded him in a aura of gold. A sharp gasp of breath came from her mouth as she gazed upon the statuesque figure. The girl crept closer, camera slowly raising. She was ready, lens focused, when a twig snapped under her. His once closed eyes now opened, wide and alert. His once still head now sprang up and it was in that moment the button clicked, freezing the moment in time. Before the boy had a chance to comprehend what had just happened, the girl was gone, leaving nothing behind but the rustling of leaves. In her developing room she sat, waiting for her finished result. In the dim light the picture appeared in the same majestic manor it had before, surprising and beautiful. Every detail: His rusty blonde hair, watchful green eyes, mouth open in surprise. He was a god. Weeks past, but not a day went by when that picture was no examined closely by the girl’s eyes. The name of the picture was ‘Perfection.’

A few months after the event, the girl was walking to school. In her pocked lay the picture. Her head was down, shielding herself from the winter cold. Suddenly, a shoulder connected with her’s and she stumbled to the side. She sighed, re-shouldering her bag. With a push of her hair, she looked up. As her eyes met those of the boy before her, she gasped. At first the boy’s eyes were filled with confusion, but after a second understanding dawned. To be certain she tool a closer look at the face she had studied for hours on end. A slow smiled spread across her face and she gently whispered, “Perfection,” the stood on her tip-toes to kiss the boy.

*10 years later*

In a house there lives a happy family. Mother, father, and two daughters. This house is always filled with laughter and the sound of tiny feet running across the wood floor. Also filling the house is a large collection of photographs: of the family, the woods surrounding the house, and their city, but there are two pictures that stand out the most. They sit in the very center of the living room on a glossy black table. The first is of a young man, in his late teen years, with a surprised look on his face surrounded by the colors of fall. The second is of a couple, the same man (though aged) in a black tux, and a bright-eyed girl in a white dress. When asked what the first is of, the wife smiles at her husband and whispers, “Perfection.”