Surreal

(Image by DJ Clark)


and there i am on the street again, making DJ, walk around in the Kathmandu heat, while he takes pictures tirelessly, something that seems to come to him naturally.

the tough side of "teacher" DJ has toned down and i've started seeing him in a friendlier light and it's what is most rewarding about working with him.

he's showing me how to take still pictures,lending me his camera for my story on the little girl, who's always sitting in her wheel-chair on the sidewalk.

when the shoot is done, i go off to get some food for my little girl, Sabina, and it's a long time before i'm back.

when i come back, i see DJ, sitting by the roadside, showing little Sabina her photos, which we took together- DJ's outstanding and mine, struggling for focus.

it's a surreal moment. also a moment of regret. makes me wish i had my camera with me, to take a shot of DJ and Sabina sitting on the road, talking to each other in two different languages. both smiling.

DJ transforms into a very strong image at that moment. something other than a journalist. and it makes me realize how i love observing people, just as much as Sabina does.

i don't know who DJ becomes at that moment. but it's the side of him that has taught me in three days to believe a little more in human energy and the possibility of doing the little that you can to make things better.

maybe i won't quit journalism, afterall. it's the only voice i've got.