Captured

Remote in one hand and phone in other, she simultaneously changed the TV channels and strolled through her social media. It was late even for a Saturday night, but Sienna just couldn’t sleep. Half eaten pizza lay besides her on the table. She kept her phone and picked up her bottle of beer. Living in Paris for almost half her life, she still lacked a taste for the world famous wine. She took a sip and continued to flip the channels until she came to one that caught her attention. It was an interview with some renowned photographer named Robert. News was he was having an open exposition in Paris the next day.

“What do you think should people pay a visit to your expo Mr. Robert? What secret does it hold?” asked the journalist.
“Oh! There is no secret as such but I would say that you would feel that the people in the frames are real, alive. I think the rest should be left for the people to deduce.” He spoke in English but with a heavy French accent. The interview soon got over and commercials began on the channel.

Sienna dialled up her friends to cancel the plans for tomorrow. Being an art lover, Sienna knew what her Sunday plans would be.

The next day, she got dressed up and drove her way to where the exhibition was been held. The place was already bustling with people when she reached.

She was observing some photographs in the exhibition when a man came towards her and gave her a tiny envelope. Confused she opened it. A couple of words were scribbled inside which read:

Photo studio in 5 minutes

Confused, she wondered what all this was about.  She decided to find it out herself.

Five minutes later she found herself before a door labelled ‘Photo Studio’. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door. She entered in a room that didn’t resemble as a photo studio. She looked around the room which was large but lacked enough furniture. There was a huge carpet on the floor and the room had no windows.

“Hello! You must be Miss…?” she turned around and came face to face with Mr. Robert himself.

 “Sienna” she said and shook his hand. He was tall and handsome. He appeared younger than in his interview last night.

“Nice to meet you Sienna. Please take a seat. I am surprised that you came. Many people find this request strange and prefer not to come. Once a lady got so terrified she actually called up the police.” He said and gave a short laugh.

“So why did you invite me?”

“I saw you looking at the photographs and decided that you would be my next photograph.”

“Me? I’m no model Mr. Robert.”

“Don’t mistake me but you have the perfect features to get photographed. You are beautiful and have a sharp sense of confidence on your face. I have been looking for something exactly similar for my next click.”

“Why not ask some famous model or a movie actress?”

“I exceptionally follow two rules for my photographs Sienna. First, I pick strangers because they bring a certain kind of originality to the photo. So no two photographs appear the same. “

“And the second rule?”

He sensed she was interested. That would make his job easier. It always did. He smiled at himself before answering.

“The second rule – I never repeat my models. Once they are captured, they become old. I like to experiment with a new face every time I hold the camera in my hand.”

“Hmm” Sienna replied, thoughtful.

“So I ask you for a favour, will you pose for my next click?” he asked.

She didn’t answer right away.

“Oh don’t worry, if this is about money, I’ll pay yo…”

“No. I’ll do it.” She said. Sienna had always wanted to do something of this sort. Being an art fanatic, she thought this will be her small contribution to the Art world. This was her opportunity.

“That’s great. Give me a couple of minutes to set up my camera.”

He rushed inside and in no time had set his equipment. He asked her to stand against a black backdrop and start posing. Robert held his camera, adjusted his focus and when he thought everything was okay he took his click.

The click was perfect like always. Accustomed to his habit, he took just one shot and left to get his photograph done. After what seemed like an hour, he entered his exhibition with the photographed frame of Sienna and put it on display.

The world around didn’t realise that a woman had been captured inside the photograph frame with no escape. None perceived when the photographer said captured he had literally meant capturing his models in a frame.

For life.