icopper:
Inevitably, he always forgot something. On a good day it would be something as minor as an extra battery for his camera or to pack a snack he could munch on while he walked. Other times it was something he much more desperately needed, like a small but powerful flashlight or a jacket that was warmer than his thin sweatshirt. Not having either one wasn’t the end of the world, and he had done without each on at least one occasion, but it certainly did make his life a bit more uncomfortable. There had been only one time when his forgetfulness had forced him to cut a trip short, and he considered those to be extraordinary circumstances.
That morning when he had set out the sun had just been coming up, dim with morning haze but with the promise of a scorching day ahead. The weather reports had borne it out, predicting highs in the seventies under partly cloudy skies until evening. He had gone by those reports, and after some consideration had made the choice to leave behind his worn but comfortable leather jacket and make-do with a thin, long sleeve t-shirt. He doubted he would be cold, and at least the thin fabric of the shirt would protect his arms from the scrapes and scratches that came with every trip. The shirt had done its job, in that regard, and it was only when he was a bit further into the trip that he realized his hadn’t planned very well. While the sun was enough to heat up the day outside, the rays and the warmth didn’t penetrate into the shadowed, closed off basement he was navigating, and the damp, rotting air seemed to hold on to a chill left over from winter. Within half an hour his fingers were numb on the focus of his camera, his breath coming out in ghostly little puffs of smoke that reflected the flash of his camera like lightening in storm clouds every time he took a picture.
Eventually it became too much of a distraction for him to want to deal with, and with a sigh of resignation and the admission that he hadn’t been well enough prepared, he folded his tripod into his backpack and carefully retreated back into the sunlight. He could return later, when he had planned ahead, and he warmed his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he walked back to his car.
Source:
icopper