them. There she was on the screen, sitting at her desk. The
room was golden from the overhead light. The windows in her
office behind her revealed it was still dark outside.
“Hey, everyone, it’s Adalynn. I know I’m usually behind the
camera, never in front of it. I guess that’s because I’ve really
never been brave enough to want to be on the other side of
things. I don’t want to be the center of attention. I don’t want
to be the subject. I was okay with capturing everyone else’s
moments, but I wasn’t okay with living them myself.”
Adalynn paused, then looked right at the camera. “I want to
start living. So here I am. This video is going
to shock a lot of
people, but I needed to tell the truth. I didn’t want it leaking
out in parts and half-truths, in rumors and gossip that turn into
something malicious. I wanted it to be the whole truth, the
whole picture…all of it. I’ve never been good at talking,
giving speeches or the like. Again, I guess that’s why I was
always drawn to photography to tell a story. We all have our
stories. Some of us have many. This is now mine. I wish I had
a photo to show you, but for privacy reasons, I don’t. But if I
did, I could show you that the woman in it, the woman with
the sparkling eyes filled with life and love, with kindness, with
wisdom, with forgiveness and compassion has inspired me to
make this video. That woman in the photo that I haven’t yet
taken, she’s the woman that I love.”
Cassia gasped. Her eyes flew to Adalynn, in shock at what
she was seeing, before they dropped back down to the video
that was still playing.
“Yes. The woman I love. I was so resolute that I wouldn’t
say anything. That I would never be saying this. I was afraid I