Captured Moments

by Natasha Kirmse (Canada)

I didn't expect to find France

We were on a high. Nothing and no one could touch us. Day one in Paris and we felt like we were on top of the world. It was surreal, staring up at the Eiffel Tower, a sight we’d only ever seen in pictures. It stood tall above us and took several moments for us to realize we were not staring at another captured image. It was real and we were there. We’d been warned on the way of pickpockets and thieves, told to be conscious of the dangers surrounding the area. Yet the moment our eyes met that great sight, all concerns were forgotten. We were enamored, drunk on the architecture, the history, the culture, the life. It was different, we thought. Paris. We’d each come in with different assumptions, my own from hearing my father rave about it for years growing up. He’d visited Paris when he was my age while living in France for a year. It was a trip I’d heard about all my life. Surely there was somewhere in the world like that for me - somewhere I could drink in the culture and feel completely at peace. In my mind it was anywhere other than France. I’d been bored with Paris before I’d left high school, determined not to fall for the city or the language like everyone else. Yet as I stood, staring out at the sunset that glowed behind the glass pyramid of the Louvre, I knew I’d been mistaken. In that moment there was a truth, an honesty I’d never felt before. The issues of the world seemed to fade away with that single sight. I watched from the side as my friends posed by the buildings, trying to get proof of their visit. However I couldn’t bring myself to do the same. I knew in my heart that the moment I felt would never be captured with a picture of myself posing in front of a glass structure. Sitting by the fountain was a couple enjoying a picnic, their joyful silhouettes accentuated by the colours of the sunset glowing vividly behind them. The water of the fountain shot up beside them and I knew this was the image I would never forget. I took a breath, finally allowing myself to stop and consider everything from the day before. Paris was our safe haven, a break from the chaos that plagued the city we’d arrived from early that morning. We’d been getting ready to turn in the night before, anxious to leave London and reach our next destination in the early morning. Just as we prepared to head up, reports came in. There was an attack on the bridge we’d walked across just hours before. We texted our friends, our family, letting them know the situation, but received little response. They weren’t aware of the reality. They were removed. We sat there for almost an hour, clutching our phones like a lifeline when the hotel bartender informed us of closing. We pleaded to keep watching, but the screen was turned off and just like that we went to our rooms, minds buzzing with the events of the past hour. I awoke to a series of messages the next morning. News had reached Canada and people I had messaged the night before were begging for reaffirmation after learning the details. I was fine. That morning London was back in business. They were resilient. Through the attack they aided each other and continued to move on. We, on the other hand, felt a panic on the streets we hadn’t felt before. We escaped to Paris. We spent the day caught up in the fairy-tale that was France. Yet in this moment, as I sat still, I allowed myself to reflect. Despite the panic I’d felt the night before, I was sitting here with full proof that life continued. No matter the panic, the fear, the concern, life prevailed. I glanced over to my friends, smiling at their poses and grins as they captured image after image on their phones. This was what life was about. The little moments. The smiles, the laughter, the sunsets. And this was what I would never forget.