Photograph

(Inspired by the song "Photograph" - Ed Sheeran)

Disclaimer: I do not use the song for commercial uses. The song inspires me to make a short story about it. Credits to the artist for the song.

"Loving can hurt

Loving can hurt sometimes

But it's the only thing that I know

When it gets hard

You know it can get hard sometimes

It is the only thing that makes us feel alive"

As I walked through the corridors, I realized that somewhat I was back alone in here after a few days ago when everyone was in a festive mood and crowding the same corridor that I was walking in. Days were passing very fast and it all ended without me actually realizing it. Everyone that I had met just a few days before were all returning to their own business with their own schedules and task to do. Here I was, with all traces of the alcohol around me, reminding me about how we were all so happy and cheerful and now everything had to end just like that.

"We keep this love in a photograph

We made these memories for ourselves

Where our eyes are never closing

Hearts are never broken

Times forever frozen still"

So I sat down onto a nearby chair, tracing everything from few days ago and realized how the sequences of events changed my point of view somehow. I looked back at all the photos, all those pictures that would keep reminding me of the fresh past I had experienced. From all of my troubles, all of my sense of achievements, and also all of those friendship bonds that perhaps I could not get it elsewhere. Now that we were finally back to our own duties and the quietness finally returned and surrounded the place I settled down, I started to miss those days, even though it was just a few days ago. Some part of me somehow simply couldn't move on.

"So you can keep me

Inside the pocket

Of your ripped jeans

Holdin' me closer

'Til our eyes meet

You won't ever be alone

Wait for me to come home"

I still remembered how I was actually gotten into these series of turnaround events that maybe seemed unlucky to me. However, when I tried to finally digested everything out, it turned that maybe if not because of these "unlucky events", I would not ended up the same way. It seemed like chances were not determined just by luck, otherwise everything we did was all luck-based. Anyway, I thought that what my friends and colleagues had said were right that in every meeting, the only that mattered the most was the friendship you could gather from that.

"Loving can heal

Loving can mend your soul

And it's the only thing that I know, know

I swear it will get easier

Remember that with every piece of ya

And it's the only thing we take with us when we die"

I met a lot of people from a lot of backgrounds that otherwise I couldn't had expected before. Things were all messy at first as we were all awkward to each other as novices, but as time passed by, we were slowly getting to a point where we could talk to each other freely and all those things that I personally could rarely find in places that I settled down before this one. I had to admit that whatever are all those people were doing so we could get to this point, they really had done a good job. Although maybe they were some miscommunication and whatnot, but in the end I could still give my honors to them for what they had done.

"We keep this love in this photograph

We made these memories for ourselves

Where our eyes are never closing

Our hearts were never broken

Times forever frozen still"

Then, I started to trace back on every photo we had made, one by one, piece by piece. I kept to remember how we all got these photos. From those photos, as like the movie rewound, I was shown all of the processes from the beginning until the end I was here. It was all full of ups and downs, joy and sadness, and also things that were worth to remember. Honestly I would want to go back in time and to restart every actions I had done since not everyone of them was my best decisions to take. Nonetheless, now that the only thing that left were guilt and regrets, I decided to shook them up and put them aside.

"So you can keep me

Inside the pocket

Of your ripped jeans

Holdin' me closer

'Til our eyes meet

You won't ever be alone"

I kept smiling at the facts about how we actually had screwed up everything when we all actually first met each other. We were not even acquaintances at that time and we kept losing whatever we had at that time. To be honest, back then I had lost hope on everyone but I chose not to trust my thoughts, since it had betrayed me so many times before, and decided to keep going for my best. It was not a wrong move, as whatever we were doing were actually gave us some glimmer of hope to continue this game and reached the end to come out as winners.

"And if you hurt me

That's OK, baby, only words bleed

Inside these pages you just hold me

And I won't ever let you go"

As I continued to scroll, I was shown about when we had been at the coast the next day. Everyone seemed to enjoy the sun and the sea breeze there and had fun with each other. On the other hand, I messed up with all of the sunburns and sands, trying to figure out why the sea water kept seeping into my tongue, giving me those tastes that almost blew up my mind. Nevertheless, I guessed that this beach visit was one of the most memorable beach time since I rarely went to the beach and this atmosphere was different compared to my usual visit with my family. Everyone was so vibrant and cheerful, something that somehow made me smile widely as it was hard to find the same thing somewhere else.

"Wait for me to come home

Wait for me to come home

Wait for me to come home

Wait for me to come home"

Then there was the third day where the climax was there with everything that had gone wild, with all of those water and sponge play all around. I saw many people were getting wet, but it seemed that they were enjoying it a lot. So I couldn't help myself but just to enjoy myself and to go with the flow. Everyone was there together as one in their own team, including my team. We were now solid as one and supported each other like brothers and sisters. This was the time when we all went together as one, and at this point of time we didn't value winning that much anymore, but rather the bonds that we were trying to keep.

"Oh you can fit me

Inside the necklace you got when you were 16

Next to your heartbeat

Where I should be

Keep it deep within your soul"

Also, other than this team events, we also have our own events with other people across teams. I didn't know whatever my teammates were experiencing, but looking from their faces I could see that they were enjoying it with their partners. As in for me, I didn't get a chance to talk with my partner because she had something important to do. Although I was a little bit disappointed at that time, but I thought she would have a good reason of doing so, so I let it go and just enjoy the scene about how everyone enjoyed each other's companies. That alone could make me feel better despite of my disappointment, so I thought that everything was fine.

"And if you hurt me

Well, that's OK, baby, only words bleed

Inside these pages you just hold me

And I won't ever let you go"

Then, after all of these turnaround of events, we had to come to an end. Honestly, seeing through this, I felt kinda happy because I could finally rest, but at the same time I feel sad because I knew that once they returned back home, this place would went back to a quiet place with almost no people inside. However, now that I thought it over, I realized that nothing last forever. No one could stay with us all the time, what had came must left in the end, and there would always be a time where we all parted ways. But what I believed was that despite all of this, all of our friendships and feelings should last as long as we live and others should not easily break it.

"When I'm away

I will remember how you kissed me

Under the lamppost

Back on 6th street

Hearing you whisper through the phone,

"Wait for me to come home.""

So that finally everything settled down and all of my companions were enjoying their last days before they started a new journey themselves, I guessed that I also needed to recharge myself. In the end, I stood up, gathered every single piece of energy I could gain from what they had left to me, and walked to continue what I was doing before. One thing that I could assure myself was these memories should not be wasted and these friendship bonds should not be forgotten. I only hoped that if I met all these people again, I would be at my fullest to walk along the same path again with them.

Notes: Thank you for reading! Such a tiring camp, but at the same time its also unforgettable. Thank you to all my seniors and friends, who came from various backgrounds but fought with me for these 4 days side by side. This is my tribute to you guys, hope you enjoy it. :D Please give me a comment whether you like it or not so I can improve. Thank you! :)