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A day amid spring and summer. An afternoon where the sun’s rays seemed to pierce and coat the concrete ground with its heat. The same day where the soft buzz of cicadas echoed beneath the sunspot of the trees and near a dusty attic. Rays seep through the cracks of a wide window and into a room with its sides cluttered with boxes except one settling in the middle. There sat a TV small enough to fit a bedside’s table, yet bulky enough to make it break. Within its wide frame, a soft glow blends with the sun’s light. A shaky camera. A smile beaming through someone’s eyes. Evergreen and the surface of the sea’s bed all in the faded shades of grey.
Eyes reflecting that same joy as they glue onto the screen. Green and blue shining with the same joy.
“Having fun, champs?” a voice says near the door’s frame. “Don’t stick too close to the screen or you’ll ruin your eyes.”
“Dad! Since when did you became so cool?!” Naib exclaims and turns to him. The look of surprise and joy plastering itself on his face. A sudden want to be like them.
“It’s nothing! Just my darling and I enjoying the flush of youth,” he laughs as their gazes stick to the screen. The dull colors of grey shining with the same palette as the rom coms of their today. A palette brighter—more engaging than storylines Hollywood made. Voices beaming of smiles as they echo off the screen. Camera shaky yet steady as that raw emotion spills onto the framework. Nearing lenses to the point of intimacy.
“A-amazing!”
“Champ, you know that’s just your mom and I messing around with your uncle’s camera, right?”
“Eli! Eli! Let’s do this next time!” Naib tugs on his sleeve. Eli not budging as the choppy frames of the camera reflects in his eyes. The same admiration shifting to him as his jaw hangs in shock.
“N-Naib…” he gapes before he turns to him, beaming with the same light, “… Let’s do this someday as well!”
There, in that dusty attic — Naib Subedar and Eli Clark fell in love with film.
It wasn’t too long until Naib begged for a camera and some VHS tapes from his uncle. With a worn-out camera, they filmed the minute details of their life. From rocks settling near the beach’s shore to dry grass growing in the cracked soil of their beloved playground.
“Naib, why’re you filming boring stuff?” Eli blurts out as Naib filmed the slight movements of a bush.
“Eli, you don’t understand! The movies my ma and pa watched were like this!”
“Let’s film birds instead, you’re wasting the tape!” he pouts and crosses his arms.
“No, I’m not! You just don’t understand!” he pauses the camera. “Let me show you the ‘boring films’ I’m talking about next Saturday! You and I,” he says with a tooth-filled grin. “I’ll surely make you change your mind!”
The next thing they know, they were sitting in the trunk of a car as the glow of the large screen reflected off their faces. A shot of a leaf projects off its borders as the monotonous commentary layers over it. The way the voice drags out its syllables. Its flat, colorless tone raving on about the shape of the leaf (?) How its pitch changes with each word spilling out of its mouth — almost as if a robot was trying to sound natural.
Eli furrows his brows, gaze shifting from the screen and onto Naib. A slight crease settles in between his eyes. His face turning cold as he fixes his gaze on the screen — a look seen whenever Eli sneak glances during their lessons. Shoulders tense and chin sitting on top of the back of his palm.
Eli yawns and stretches his arm, monotone fading for a moment. A familiar gaze trailing to him as he stretches.
“Hey… tell me why we’re here again?” he rubs his eyes and meets gazes with Naib.
“To prove a point,” Naib frowns as he sees him yawn once more. “Wake up, sleepyhead! We’re only halfway through!” he pinches his cheek and Eli groans.
“… I just want to make films with you…” he furrows his brows and falls onto his lap.
“Oi! Don’t make me carry you back home again!”
“… Wake me up when it’s over…”
“Liar! You’ll pass out after this!”
Turns out, leaf (?) documentaries didn’t help him out either.
“I don’t get it, Eli,” Naib stares at the screen, view upside down. A wide shot of clear skies before a figure steps into view. Dialogue like white noise to him. “This is the same thing as the one I showed you!”
Eli furrows his brows, retorting, “no, it’s not! It’s a love story about— “
“—Love stories!” Naib jumps up. “I’ve seen one about to premiere in that movie place I showed you!” he turns to him. “Let’s watch it together!”
In car’s trunk, the two huddling beneath a blanket. One used as a tissue as tears well and roll down their cheeks. The sting of the next tear only coming to mind as the dampness of their lashes rub against the fabric.
“Naib! Why d’you choose a sad movie?!”
“Eli!” he chokes out as a grin tugs on his lips. “Isn’t it great, though?! Emotion… tears!” his voice shakes as his smile breaks into a laugh.
“Oi! Why’re you laughing?! You’re so mean!” Eli exclaims as he elbows him. The smile shining within him, making its mark as a grin lifts his lips and breaks into a laugh. A joy finding its way into other people with a simple curve of the lips. The minute details found in everyday life that can’t help you smile. Almost as if they’re daily reminders that the ground they step foot on, the shore they sink their feet into — were alive. A joy only life could experience.
“… Naib, I think I get you,” he blurts out one day while they were filming.
“Really?! The movie worked, didn’t it?!”
“It’s not that stupid!”
It’s almost as if they both fell deeper in love with film.
As soon as they closed off their last year of middle school, they spent the short yet long months of spring with their normal routine. Filming rocks with him almost didn’t seem as boring. It was as if they were having more fun with each other.
Soon, their days of spring and youth passed and ended like the leaves falling onto the ground. The sound of the sunspot almost seeming to be a week ago. Days where they watched movies in a car’s trunk paused like a skipping stone, sinking into the waters.
“Have you ever thought of buying a lighter camera?” Eli blurts out.
“… Lighter camera?” he hums as he ponders. “The thought’s nice, but they’re too expensive!”
“… If I go to the city, would you like one…?” Eli mutters.
“Say something?”
“N-nothing…”
…
The scent of cut grass blends in with the city’s drunk scent of champagne. Only a few miles away. Drive for a few hours and they’ll get there. Into the neon lights. The bustling roads of the city. Almost like they’re in a different world. The empty roads cracking with evergreen fading into the polished concrete of a world miles away.
Eli stares at the sinking horizon, letting his mind drift as the distant sound of waves brush against the shore. Seagulls chiming as they fly into the endless sky. Hues of orange blend into the clouds, dying it in a palette of sun and moon. Naib zooms in the camera, staring at him with the border of the wide lens. The shot focusing on the profile of his face, wind weaving itself into his hair. A rustle from the leaves as they dance with the air, branches swaying ever so slightly.
The same sound of summer.
“Eli? You there?” he asks and puts down the camera for a moment.
No response.
“What’re you thinking about?” he nears him.
“Naib, if I went to the city… what would you do?”
His heart drops. A slight change of expression only to by covered up by a smile.
“I would congratulate you! You’d get to see the other world!” Naib beams. “What’s gotten into you?” he hops into his view. “Could it be…?” he feigns a gasp. “You got a city girlfriend?!”
“I-it’s not that! Stupid!” Eli exclaims as he feels blood rush to his ears.
“What is it, then?” he muses. The grin on his lips fading as curiosity gleams in his eyes.
“T-the truth is…” he chokes out as a lump form in his throat. Gaze shifting from the sky and to the ground, his face turns cold. Furrowed brows, lips thinning as his heart pounds from the anticipation. A sudden thirst parches his lips as Naib’s curious gaze pierces through him.
He takes a deep breath and opens his mouth. Words lingering with the taste of bitter tea. A taste leaving him wanting to pierce his tongue with a blade of a knife.
“… I’m moving to the city next week…”
Naib feels his heart drop. A panic one experiences when time passes too fast. When one realizes that the credits were rolling. When the screen fades to black to show the title card one last time before cutting to darkness. A pang of loneliness hitting oneself as the cinema drowns in the void. A sole question rings in one’s head.
“This can’t be the end… is it?”
“Naib, don’t panic,” Eli puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’m moving next Monday.”
“M-Monday? Today’s Saturday, so— “
“—I’m sorry for telling you so soon…”
“… You’ll visit me… right?”
“I will!” Eli takes his hands into his. “Mail me VHS tapes while I’m away, all right? I’ll send you some back if I get a camera of my own!”
“Really?” Naib looks up and locks gazes with him.
“Cross my heart,” Eli smiles.
“… And hope to die,” Naib lets go of his grip. A solemn moment of silence as the sound of the sunspot floats back up. Pulling Eli into a hug, he shoves him into his chest, “ah! Eli’s all grownup now!” he coos as he ruffles his hair.
“S-shut up!” he chokes out as he feels his cheeks warm. The same infectious joy spreading from his lips to his eyes. A mixture of happiness and sorrow. A goodbye with a smile. The tears he can’t help but shed. Those last few days, they spent the day in the attic where they replayed their moments together. An afternoon where half-hearted promises tattoo themselves on the ceiling. Almost as if they were living in a forbidden love story.
As if the two days they last spent with each other were a minute ago, the time following passed like the ending credits. Long, drawn-out, with a yearning to want more. Little did they know it, no VHS tapes got passed around. No letters mailed to the city’s front door or the countryside’s sea shore. Did act one or two just end? Surely, this isn’t the end of it all.
Somehow, filming with oneself felt lonelier than when he was with a partner.The sound of the sunspot turning into the ringing noise he hears when he’s awake. Not the peaceful buzz in the background, but the lonely sound of a VHS tape’s hiss. As he rewinds the tapes, and the hiss comes to mind, 11:11 hits. To know that he spent the day rewinding and watching tapes made the sound more pitiful. He wonders if Eli had already seen the latest blockbuster hit. Had he lost interest in film? Only he could rewind the tapes.
“Honey, you’re still awake?”
“Ma…” he pauses the video. A weight of tiredness shifts into his eyes as the soft glow stops for a moment. A shot of when they were in their old playground. Evergreen seeping beneath the rusty metal.
“… Losing sleep because of that Eli kid?”
Silence. He turns his back to her.
“Sleep soon, okay?”
He hums, eyes shifting back to the screen.
If the countryside reminds Eli of the sinking horizon as the sun sets, then the city reminds him of the dark blanket night shrouds itself in. The lights coming from apartment windows and the post-lamps lining the empty streets only being its light source. Instead of the sound of the sunspot, what he heard were the bustling sounds of cars driving past the road.
“Eli, catch enough sleep.”
“I will, mom…”
As the years passed, and the credits rolled, act two had already begun. A graduation cap, a black outfit and a yearning for something new. Soon enough, that polished road mixes in with that evergreen. A motorcycle travels through the miles, bumping as the cracks of the years-old road settle in with the smooth concrete. To know that they still had that spark in them. That their love for film still ventured on despite years of pining—somehow made the hurt less painful yet still bitter.
On the concrete path and the leveling stairs, there they locked the same gaze.
“Eli?”
“N-Naib…”
Naib thins his lips, brows furrowing together before he walks past him. Shoulders brushing as Eli feels a cold breeze up his spine.
“Pick up the pace, Eli! We’ll get late!” a feminine voice.
“… I will, Gertrude.”
She pauses and turns to him. Her pace slowing down as she nears him. “You all right?”
“It’s nothing,” his gaze trails back to his direction. Naib taking a turn into a hallway.
Gertrude furrows her brows. A sudden want for him to feel happiness. It wasn’t too long until she persuades him to approach Naib during lunch. Tension. Silence but the bustle of the cafeteria and a want to talk. Warming up to him was as hard as their first meeting. Intimidating stance and expression — a replay of time.
It was the next month when tension died down. Slow, but sweet. As Naib approaches his table, Eli can’t help but tense up as he places his tray in front of him.
“S-sorry…”
That familiar nostalgia that made his heart skip a beat.
“Can we…” Naib says as he averts his gaze, “… still be friends?”
As the clock hit 11:11, and their days fill with smiles, their fourth-year nears its end. Act three: one last project before the credits roll.
In a lecture hall lining with chairs, Naib lets his mind drift as he stares at the projector’s screen. He feels his eyes get heavier as the droning voice of his professor echoes through the corners. The way he speaks reminding him of the commentator’s in the documentary he forced Eli to watch with him. This time, his voice has more color to it than the flat liner. Just before he dozes off, a sentence strikes his heart. One making his heart race as the countryside’s scenes flashes before his eyes.
The sound of the sunspot echoes in his mind. A wave crashes on the sand’s surface. A VHS tape’s slight hiss as he rewinds the tape.
“Make a documentary or film about something special.”
Lunch was when he approaches him.
“Eli! Eli! Have you heard?” a grin sounds through his words as a spark lights itself in his eyes. The same spark Eli saw from the days they killed time with VHS tapes and movie nights. A spark that lit the same fire in his eyes like a scene of pure smiles.
“The project?” Eli’s eyes spark as his heart pounds of anticipation.
Naib nods and jumps up. “What I was thinking is that…” he leans closer, breath ghosting his lobe. Eli feels his cheeks warm. “… I should film you!”
“I-I was thinking the same thing!”
“Let’s make this a joint-project!” he takes his hands into his. “Just like the summer days!”
…
The camera shakes. A blurry view of someone’s palm. The hand retracts itself, revealing a closeup of Naib’s face and a glimpse of brown hair. In the distance, the lens catches a side of a blackboard along with blurred faces. Conversations turning to jumbled noise.
“I-is it recording?” Eli chimes and peeks over his shoulder, gaze finding the viewfinder.
Naib nods, taking one last look of the lens before walking to the back of the camera. “… One, two… action!”
“Um…” Eli trails off and forces a laugh.
“Never mind! Let’s do a retake!”
The camera cuts to black before finding the same scene, Eli’s gaze piercing through the lens.
“Hello, I’m Eli Clark, twenty-one years old and for me… someone I could call special is Naib Subedar,” a grin shows itself from his words. His gaze shifts from the lens and to the viewfinder.
A slight laugh sounds off screen.
“I-if I remember… we met while we were in kindergarten! He used to scare all of us cause of his face until I found him sobbing near the beach!” his voice shakes as he tries to hide his laugh. “When I met him at first… I was just like the other kids! Scared, intimidated — “the smile breaks into a laugh as his gaze meets off-screen.
“What did I ever do?!”
“Nothing! Nothing!” he wipes a tear with a sleeve. Clearing his throat, he regains his composure, “that’s all I got,” he shrugs.
“It’s my turn already?!”
“Come on, come on! Let’s cut the tape!”
The camera cuts to black, finding a slightly altered scene. Instead of Eli, Naib sits in front of the camera. His back hunches as he crosses his arms. A different posture contrasting Eli’s comfortable, open one.
“It’s filming.”
“N-Naib Subedar. Twenty-two,” his eyes shift as he tries to find words. “When I first met him… I thought… thought…” he shoves his face into his palms.
“No worries! Just keep talking!”
He lifts his head, lens catching his flushed face. “I don’t know! I thought you were an angel!”
A burst of laughter erupts behind the camera.
“Shut up! Let me get the camera!”
The lens shakes, getting a blurry glimpse of Naib’s face before cutting to black.
Taking a deep breath, Naib turns to Eli with a half-hearted glare as he continues laughing.
“You’re so— “
“— Please wrap up your filming!” the voice of their professor rings through the class.
Eli grins at him as he frowns, Naib giving his shin a light kick in response.
“Filming…” Eli trails off as realization hits him.
“We’ve already filmed…?”
“B-but what about the rest of the… documentary…”
“We’ll find a way!” Naib beams. “… Somehow…”
That week, they filmed voiceovers and interview-like shots. All of them either in their campus’ cafeteria or their lecture hall. As Friday passes, they still avoided the answer to their question that Tuesday.
Until Saturday comes around.
Instead of Eli’s alarm clock waking him up, Naib’s desperate knock and yell woke him up instead.
“Eli! Eli!” Naib’s beaming voice echoes through the halls of his apartment. The relentless knocking on his door waking neighbors up. “I have an idea!”
Eli groans, covering his ears with a pillow as the sun’s rays pierce through his eyes.
“Hello? Eli?” just as the knocking softens, his alarm clock goes off. “Good morning, Eli!”
Slamming his alarm shut, he forces himself up as his vision blurs. He creaks the door open and meets gazes with the same spark lit eyes. Ones contrasting to his tired-lined ones. Naib peeks through the chain lock, beaming.
“It’s seven.”
“I know! Now let me in! I have an idea!” he says and shoves his foot in between the door’s crack.
Sighing, Eli unlocks the barrier. As soon as the lock comes loose with a clack, he jolts as his head gets buried in Naib’s chest. A hand ruffling his hair as he lets out a tired groan.
It wasn’t too long until they sat themselves in front of each other.
“You got an idea for how we’ll film it?”
Naib nods, “I want to film in places that remind us of our connection,” he says as a smile hides beneath his voice.
“Our… connection?” Eli feels his cheeks warm as he echoes his words. “That’s easy… why come here for my help, anyway?”
Naib places his head on the table’s surface, letting out a nervous laugh, “I don’t know where to film…”
Eli stares.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you forget?”
“… Forget?”
“Our hometown, stupid!” Eli exclaims as Naib jumps up.
“Our hometown! How could I ever forget?!” he says as the warmth of embarrassment fills his cheeks. “S-since we’ve got our filming location, are you free tomorrow?”
“T-tomorrow?! Isn’t that way too soon?!”
“We can film some other day, if you— “
“— I’m free!”
“You sure?”
Eli nods and grasps his hands into his, “seven A.M! Don’t come barging into my door this time, all right?”
Naib mimics his nod, grinning as the meet gazes, “cross my heart.”
“… And hope to die.”
In a corner of a room, they could hear an audible hoot.
It was as if that same thrill Eli experienced years ago came back to life to thrust itself back into his heart. Birds chirping beneath the orange dipped sunrise, a steady motor buzzes from outside his apartment’s building. He gets a glimpse of Naib’s leather jacket as he fixes his hair. A cool, mysterious air shrouds him as he waits on his motorcycle. Eli furrows his brows, noticing the tips of flower petals peek out of his hands.
Passersby slow their moves as they pass by him. Almost like a love interest stepping out of a rom com. If only he had that grease combed into his hair, then he would be the perfect suitor.
Creaking the door open and stepping into the light, he greets him.
“Naib!” Eli beams as he waves at him.
“Eli!” he says and gestures him closer. As soon as Eli nears him, hands wrap around his waist to pull him close. Eli jolts as his cheeks get warmer against the cool air, heart ringing in his ear.
“O-oi! It’s so early!”
He buries his head into his scarf and catches a whiff of the seabed. A scent that reminds him of home and the pine trees dancing in the air. “You smell so good today, Eli! What detergent did you use?”
“L-let go! Let’s film already or you’ll lose gas!”
Naib lets go, handing him the bouquet in his palm. A grin plasters itself on his face. White petals of orchids and yellow ones of daffodils. Beads of water still sticking themselves onto them. “Hold this for me, will you?”
Somehow, driving with him brought him a sense of comfort away from the bustling city. Was it because of the fading noise the closer they get to that cracked road? The way wind weaves itself into his hair as the buildings turn into a smudge? He can’t say anything but tighten his grip on the bouquet as the steady beat of his heart rings. It’s surely the thrill of being on a motorcycle, right?
“Hold on tight, Eli dear!” Naib beams as they reach the evergreen road. Almost as if some things never changed.
“… Where d’you learn that?” he mumbles against his back. The same warm feeling wells up in his heart.
All that Naib does is laugh.
As if hours felt like minutes, they reach their destination.
…
The camera wobbles with each step they take. Slight crunches of leaves echoing in the background as Naib continues his rambling. A blurry shot of the ground filled with leaves and branches. Glimpses of feet walking through the overgrown grass. The lens pans up, catching Naib’s broad back as he leads the camera to his trail. A glimpse of yellow and white petals peeking behind his back.
“… How many times have we been to this path? One? Two? Tens of thousands?” he shifts the last few vines off to the side, sunlight peeking through the bushes.
“I’ve lost count, too.”
The lens gets a glimpse of his smile as it zooms in on his profile.
“It’s been so long that I forgot the original route,” Naib says and turns to the lens. The bouquet in his arms revealing itself. “Do you remember going in this forest every weekend?”
“No,” the camera steadies on his face as they stop for a moment. “I think we went the other way.”
The sound of the sunspot echoes.
“A-anyway…” he scratches his head and lets out a nervous laugh. “My home has a lot of history to it. It was the first home my ma and pa moved into and the one where we… found our love for film,” he says and turns to walk into the light.
The camera follows him, finding the back of his home. Planks worn out and paint chipping, the moss spreads out onto its base.
“My ma told me one day that… pa used to be an aspiring director,” Naib leads him to the front. “He got inspired by his brother and that’s where we got our VHS tapes and our first camera,” he smiles to himself as he climbs the front stairs. Its surface along with the windows wear a layer of dust. The glass panes don scratches as their wired barrier rust away in the seasons.
Bouquet in hand, he knocks on the door.
“Ma, it’s me.”
The camera falters and dips to the ground, a palm covering its lens before cutting to black.
Light seeps into the lens. A scene of a home decorated with antiques as wood lines the walls. A shrine with Naib’s bouquet placed on the side seen from the distance. Blurred picture frames adorn the wall. A steady wide-shot of the entire room before cutting to black. More b-roll fills its storage.
“… About my pa…” Naib chimes as the camera follows him up into the attic. The stairs creaking with every step he takes. “He created homemade videos with my ma. His work revolves around that slice of life if you put it into words. He says it’s nothing too serious, but I could see his passion and effort put into them every time I replay the tapes.”
“… So, that’s why you always film rocks…”
Naib jolts, “I-I just like to observe the small details in life! You film birds, anyway!” he sends a tooth-filled grin as his canines stick out. His gaze just meeting above the camera as the light paints his back. The sound of the sunspot in midsummer’s days. A neater attic, yet the same content.
“This was where Eli and I got our knack!” he says as the lens focuses on his bright figure once more. A proud smile shining like sunlight’s childhood friend. As he rambles on about his home life, the camera lingers on him. Not what he’s talking about, nor the object he’s gesturing to. Just a little more. Staring at the blurry viewfinder.
Eli stares, not looking at the camera’s screen anymore. His gaze trailing to the ground as he lets his mind drift. That focus on their goal blurring as his gaze lingers on Naib, no longer needing the camera to admire him. What am I doing? That was the question that he needed answering, yet he had no use to question it. As if it was natural.
“Eli?”
“S-sorry, I was thinking about things… ah?!” he jolts as he feels Naib pinch his cheeks.
“Wake up, sleepyhead! We’ve only done a chip in the iceberg!”
It wasn’t too long until they filmed more b-rolls and artistic scenes of the horizon and the sea. A couple shots of their old playground mixed in the camera’s storage. Spending the afternoon reeling in the feeling of nostalgia in hearts, the sun sinks into the distant waves. And so, they drive back to the bustling city, a smile finding its way on their lips as the wind brushes against their hair.
“Since we filmed in my home, why not yours?” Naib chimes as they stop beneath the traffic light.
“My home?”
He hums, “your apartment. I wrote the flow of the documentary in my head.”
“Going all out for me, huh?”
“I can’t help it. You make me feel special,” a smile sounds through his voice as the same feeling wells up in Eli’s heart. His grip around his waist tightens as his face warms, leaning his head on his broad back. Purple and orange hues reach his eyes, gaze shifting to the sky. ‘It’s the feeling of admiration’ is what he assures himself.
“… I feel the same…”
“Y-you’re so cute! I’d kiss you if I could!” he beams as the traffic light turns green.
“D-don’t say that! It’s embarrassing!”
…
Focused on the carpet floor, the camera pans up to reveal Eli staring at the viewfinder with a key in hand, A shot where the sun’s horizon shines in the distant background, making him look like he’s wearing a crown of light. With a creak of a door, the lens follows his actions as he rambles about his home life.
“… My parents were always ambitious, expecting me to do and get my best,” he clicks the lights open. “They were dreamers and wished to live in the city.”
“… And so, our relationship faltered.”
Eli thins his lips, forcing a laugh. “We hate to admit it, but it did.”
“It’s because you didn’t send me your address!”
“Shush! This isn’t about you!” Eli laughs as he continues leading the camera throughout his room. A bookshelf lines a wall, the titles all revolving around two subjects: love and film. As they continue filming his room, the lens glimpses the floor filled with laundry and a blanket. Two stray feathers misplaced and a lone bird cage.
“Where are your parents, anyway?”
“Abroad. Business stuff,” he says before switching the subject. “… At first, I wasn’t interested in film until Naib found that VHS tape. His father’s work amazed me—specifically a shot where he filmed the seagulls. I still remember it. The sound of cicadas, conversations between lovers—”
—The sound of wings flapping fills the room, an owl hooting as it jumps up from the covers. For a moment, the camera shakes as the grip comes loose.
“C-calm down, Poppo!”
The owl hoots as it flies on his shoulder, talons settling. Brushing its feathers with a finger, Eli sighs. He looks off screen and a smile tugs on his lips.
“I thought they don’t allow pets?”
The owl ruffles its feathers as he continues brushing them.
“I’ve had her since I graduated,” he says. “Found her injured in a park. I supposed letting her go, but she just stuck to me,” he laughs. “Keep this a secret between the two of us… but, I talked to her like she was my best friend when Naib wasn’t around!”
A burst of laughter echoes from behind the camera.
“W-what’s wrong?! You didn’t talk to rocks when you were lonely?!”
“It’s nothing!” the camera falters on the ground. “I just found it cute!”
“Don’t embarrass me in front of the camera!”
Just before it cut to black, they could hear the sound of laughter behind the lens.
“Well then,” a smile echoes in his voice. “That’s it for today! My cam’s running out of storage,” he stretches. “Good job today, Eli!” he says and ruffles his hair.
“Y-you too…” he mumbles. A warm feeling that needed no questioning. The steady beat of his heart. Whispering of the sunspot as they meet gazes. It felt right.
Silence but the cars driving in the distance.
“… I’ll… I’ll see myself out,” Naib breaks the silence.
“Take care…”
He nods before stepping back, “we’ll film at the campus on…” he trails off as his hand finds the door’s knob.
“… Monday.”
“… G-goodnight!” Just like that, he exits with a clack. He slams the door shut and stares at the ground, mind drifting as a smile tugs on his lips. A frown, not helping to hide it. As he slides down the door, he feels strings tug on his heart, the warmth pooling up in his cheeks not helping. It was as if he stepped out of a movie theatre, still feeling the effects of the actor’s emotions. A rush of the past.
Hunching his back, he buries his head into his palms.
“This is bad.”
As soon as the door closed and Naib left, Eli stares at the ground. A warm feeling that made its way on his lips. Past sparks from the seabed’s shore. One’s coming from their movie nights and the laughs they shared.
Silence, but the sunspot’s voice echoing in his ears.
“Surely, this isn’t just admiration…”
…
Naib could still remember that day. Amid spring, the sound of summer still lingers. When Eli held out his hand in the beach. The breeze weaving through their hair. Tears welling in his eyes. A glimpse of hope as his heart steadies its beat.
A love lasting after the ending screen. Almost like they were meant to be, they met again in middle school. A feeling blending with love and admiration as they bonded over their neighboring houses and shared interests.
It was in the summer of seventh grade when he found a VHS tape in his attic. A day where the rays shine brighter than usual and the buzz of cicadas seem to bounce off the walls.
“Eli, Eli!” Naib beams, “check this out!” he brings up the tape as Eli turns to him.
“What’s that?” he nears him as they observe it.
“Don’t know, but,” he turns to the TV screen, “… this might go there?”
That day was where he fell in love with film and deeper in love with Eli. Once he saw that spark in his eyes as the frames roll in, he knew something was off… no… special. Was it the beat of his heart reminding him of the beach’s shore? The film’s hazy tint? How raw the emotion was?
If he knew something, then it was that Eli Clark was special.
It wasn’t too long until Naib begged to borrow his uncle’s camera for the weekend.
“Eli, Eli!” he blurts out one day in Eli’s house. “I borrowed a camera from my uncle!”
Seeing that movie house on the way back home was like a spark in him lit up. A moment seeming like it was destined.
“You want to go to that place?” his father muses as he looks up from his newspaper.
Naib nods.
He looks to his side, meeting gazes with his mother.
She sighs, “it’s been a while since I’ve been there, so why not?”
“The place’s perfect for dates, so, keep that in mind, Champ!”
… Dates?
The thought of Eli floats back up to his mind as he feels his cheeks warm.
“—Love stories!” he jumps up as the perfect idea strikes his mind. A flimsy coverup to watch him observe scenes from afar and spend time with him.
He knew that love was temporary. A moment too sudden to process in his mind. Naïve. He knew that it was the rush of the moment, so why does it still haunt him after the credits rolled? Was it because he hasn’t moved on? A possibility he desperately clung onto despite knowing it wasn’t possible? He still remembers the warmth of his hands contrasting the coldness of his own.
To see him again was a rush of emotions. Confusion, fear, panic, anger, joy. Why did he ignore him despite the slight feeling of happiness? He hides behind his back and postpones all answers.
…
The first interview subject is a pale, silver-haired man. His face seems like he hasn’t slept in five years; deep circles line themselves beneath his light eyes. A scene in a busy cafeteria. He is Aesop Carl, a music course student.
“What’s my definition of something ‘special?’” he muses and gives a look above the lens.
A hum.
“Well… it’s simple… really. Something that means the world to you. A love so strong it lingers once the world closes in on itself,” Aesop says. “Am I rambling again? You’ll cut this out, right?”
The next subjects of the interview are a tall, dark-haired woman and a short, brunette woman. The two giving the opposite vibe of each other. They are Emily Dyer and Emma Woods. Emily taking the health course while Emma taking the English one.
“… Special?” Emma muses before she thinks. “Better than ordinary! Like a bow to complete a bouquet!”
Emily nods, “someone that makes you feel that… isn’t putting you on a pedestal. You feel specialty when the two of you are on the same platform, showing off each other’s talents.”
Emma grins, clapping her hands as he finishes, “as expected of Emily!”
As the Eli continues his filming separate from Naib, he can’t help but linger on the thought of him. Had he been focusing on him more rather than the scenery? Could this be a replay of the times he watched him instead of the movie?
What struck him the most was Emily’s statement. Sharing the same stage. Naib brought out that hidden passion of his. Maybe that’s why he thought of him as soon as the word ‘special’ comes to mind? He wonders if it’s possible to be something more.
“Nonsense.”
Just like the films, they weren’t real — only fantasy.
“It’s better to stay that way.”
Next Monday was when Naib came into his apartment once again. Amid afternoon while he was tending to Poppo, a knock echoes on his door.
Creaking the door open, he meets the same spark-filled eyes. Warmth fills his cheeks as the sound of summer echoes in his mind.
“Good afternoon,” Naib says and brings his camera near his chest.
“More b-roll?”
He nods.
As the horizon sinks and the lens follows menial things around his room, Eli can’t help but stare at him. The slow and steady way he pans the camera from one side to another. A similar expression, like the times they visited the movies. Almost like a replay in time. Sound of summer.
“Hey,” Eli breaks the silence. “You can film me, you know?”
Naib lets out a laugh, turning the lens towards him, “then, so be it!” he grins as he zooms in on his face. A hoot sounds before Poppo flies to Eli’s side and perches herself on his head. “Horus’ blessing!”
Sharing laughs and small talk while he films, the camera slowly shifts from the scenery to Eli’s mannerisms. The slight breath he lets out before laughing. How the edges of his eyes lift whenever he smiles and how his brows curve up whenever he listens to his words.
Another reminder of the past during their first meeting. Like a light in the dark, Eli held out that hand as the same smile tugs on his lips as it does on him now. How he sees that same smile whenever they go out to see a movie of his interest. Dates in the cover of a ‘learning experience’ as he took the chance to steal glances like his parents did when they were little.
It was just childhood’s first love. He didn’t take the chance to tell him during their time at the beach, nor the times they stayed up late. A hope that one day, his feelings will fade like a summer’s ending scene.
They linger. When he left, when he replayed their moments—he came to haunt him.
Maybe this was a replay of time.
“Eli,” he blurts as Eli looks away from the TV’s screen.
“What’s up?” Eli muses, and before he knows it, Naib buries himself in his chest. Jolting as warmth rushes to his cheeks, he tenses up. “O-oi! Go continue filming already! We’re halfway done, anyway!”
…
Saturday was when the two filmed back in their hometown. Wind weaving in their hair as they venture on the dry ground, they exchange small talk as the two films with their cameras in hand. Horizon sinking like the summer days of youth.
“Want to film at our special place?” Naib muses as he focuses his camera on the sea’s horizon.
“Movie house?” Eli muses.
A hum, “it’s been a while since I’ve been there, too,” he says. “Let’s recapture old memories.”
The lens meets the ground, filming a shot of legs instead of scenery. Concrete ground with fading marks painted onto it.
“… The movie house closed down?”
The camera pans up to meet Naib’s profile. Nearing lenses to the point of intimacy. Hurt. In the hazy background, the lens glimpses a billboard wearing a torn-out advertisement. The remaining debris of the advertisement revealing a half of two words: now premiering.
“… Naib?” the lens falters to the ground once more.
“S-sorry… it’s stupid for me being upset of the inevitable…”
“… We can stop filming.”
A hum.
Black.
Eli closes the camera before going to his side, pulling him into a hug, “it’s all right,” he whispers as he lets his nails dig into his shirt. A warm feeling comparable to when the tides turn as the summer echoes. One reminding him of home. Not the lights of the city, but home. Moonlight glistening on the shore and the sway of leaves they captured. Lingering gazes and the orange hues of the sunset. It felt natural. A replay.
“Want to go to the beach?”
A muffled hum.
It wasn’t too long until Naib lies his head on Eli’s lap, watching the sunset glisten against the waves. Each time the shore blends in with the sand feeling like a moment lasting forever.
“Eli.”
“What is it?” he looks down as he weaves his fingers into his hair.
“Promise this to keep this as a secret, all right?”
“Want to tell me something?”
Naib thins his lips. The sound of summer echoes as the steady beat of his heart rings in his ear. Was this the right time? Ignoring the question and rushing to somewhere else.
“… Thank you,” he says. “… The reason you came to mind when I heard ‘special’ was because of moments like these,” he shuts his eyes as he lets the breeze through his hair.
Warmth wells up in Eli’s heart.
“You’re kind… caring. I knew it wasn’t your fault you moved away… but I just… ignored you,” he continues rambling. His voice getting softer with each word rolling off the tongue. “I don’t know why I was like that. Jealousy? Bitterness? What I wanted to say is that I…”
Silence but anticipation and whispers of summer.
“… Naib?” Eli looks down. His heart sinking once his eyes meet his sleeping face. He sighs before looking into the sunset. The steady beat of his heart rings in his ear as the urge to scream builds up. It was as if he was living in the height of a romance’s moment only dragging down by an inconvenient event. He sighs, wondering which words would complete his sentence.
“There’s no way he would feel the same.”
Eli tosses and turns that night’s rest. All of his thoughts building up to that possibility. That impossible thought coming true to haunt his mind. The sound of summer echoing in his mind was getting irritating, like the bustle of the city. Whenever he stares at the ceiling, trying to sleep — that buzzing sound comes to ring in his ear.
He wonders if love truly was sweet like the moon river.
…
During a Friday’s late night was when Eli texted Naib. Feeling the effects of insomnia and the rush of excitement. Second to last scene they’re filming for the project. A feeling similar to when they near the end of filming a project in their hometown.
Eli: naib
Eli: naib
Eli: naaaaaaaib
naiby huhu \(// ∇ //)\: go to sleep :(
Eli: i wanna finish this projeect!!!!
naiby huhu \(// ∇ //)\: thEn sleep for energy!! it’s our 2nd to last shoot tmr,, mr desaulishdhdndns doesn’t want flimsy camera work
Eli: no :((
naiby huhu \(// ∇ //)\: ROAAR!! im gonna eat u if u don’t sleep now!! >:/
Eli: huuuumph
naiby huhu \(// ∇ //)\: nno srsly,, pls get sleep :(
naiby huhu \(// ∇ //)\: gn! :)
As soon as he sends the last text, summer’s sound buzzes in his ear. Bustling of the city. A sound and a thought following him through the night. Déjà vu. Almost like the cars driving in the road. No matter where he goes, that sound was always in the distance. A feeling reminding him of a good movie’s aftermath — love continuing to live after the ending scene.
It took him a moment to realize the horizon opening up. Orange hues, light seeping through the windows and the beeping sound of his alarm. A hoot sounding from Poppo.
A half of him wanted to laugh, and the other half wanted to cry.
naiby huhu \(// ∇ //)\: goooddd morning, eli!! :)
naiby huhu \(// ∇ //)\: might arrive in 7 or sumn :0 eat ur breakfast first!!
The urge to scream builds up.
…
With a hazy gaze and a pain ringing through his head, he looks out the window and meets gazes with Naib on his motorcycle. Instead of the steady beat of his heart, what he felt was the rush of adrenaline and panic. A smile curves his lips as the rush spreads from his heart to his legs. A mix of emotions he can’t tell if it’s because of Naib or the lack of sleep.
He rushes to the door. The sun pierces through his gaze as he steps out the shade. Its rays seeming to shine brighter than before. Was it because of him or was it that bright? Almost as if they were forcing him to stay awake.
“Eli!” Naib waves and rushes to him. Getting off his motorcycle, he nears.
“Naib!” he beams back. His voice echoing with tiredness.
“Did you get enough sleep? You look like a mess!” he leans on a pole.
Nervous laughter echoing as he steps lower. His head about to drift somewhere else. It wasn’t too long until air meets with his foot instead of the steady ground. For a moment, his heart pulls him awake. As he reaches for something to hold on to, his waist gets pulled by arms that brought him a sense of comfort. Sunspot whispers.
“Woah!”
Just like a meet-cute, he lands into Naib’s arms. As he presses himself against his chest, he hears the rapid beat of his heart. One similar to his. The soft breath right beside his ear. Warmth filling his cheeks as he feels a glimpse of skin-ship. His mind spinning more instead of calming down. Was he the hopeless romantic in the film? He feels like he is. Naib Subedar is holding him by the waist and my god, they were so close.
The scent of mint lacing his breath fills his mind. He could see him. Every inch of skin, each sparkle in his eyes and summer’s warmth flushing on his skin. Delusions that the moment would last.
“A-are... are you okay?” Naib breaks the silence. Eli could pin-point each emotion on his face: panic, desire, excitement. From the way his cheeks dusts red, he reads him as a hopeless romantic. A similar expression plastered onto him. If this moment could last — just one more second or minute to feel his touch.
“… N-no…” he chokes out as he falls deeper.
“W-where does it hurt? Did you sprain your ankle?!”
Oh, my god.
Catching sleep was harder than catching feelings. A replay of emotions from the flush of youth. Ones he bottled up floating back onto the shore. As if the two were more aware of expressing their emotions and how they play out to the other.
One last week until they finish their ending scene.
Monday was when Naib notices Eli drifting off during class. His eyes trailing towards him before lingering for a moment. He would see that focused expression and his eyes would trail back to the board. This time, his gaze lingered longer than expected. Instead of his usual expression, he had the look Aesop wore: tired.
“Eli, you all right?” he approaches him during lunch.
“Y-yeah, don’t mind me. Finals…” Eli laughs.
“Take care, all right?”
Tuesday was when they completed their plans with an added layer of tension.
Naib points to a portion of their outline, the pencil’s charcoal marking a dot next to the block. “The ending scene’s simple,” he says. “Talk about why we chose each other… live.”
“Live?” Eli muses.
Naib nods, “camera rolling,” he says. “It seems hard, but I promise I’ll find a way!”
Silence but the bustle of the cafeteria.
“T-that’s it for today,” Naib chokes out. “You free this Saturday?”
Eli hums as his gaze trails off.
“Hey, Eli!” Gertrude waves as she approaches the two.
“Long time no see,” he waves back.
For a moment, Naib feels the slither of jealousy run up his spine.
“Naib? You there?”
“S-sorry,” he thins his lips.
Thursday was when Eli ate with Gertrude instead. Slumping on the cafeteria’s table, he groans as he watches the two bonds from a distance.
“I don’t get it! Why am I getting worked up over this?!”
“Love struck,” Norton blurts out.
“No way!”
Something was wrong.
“Eli, you free?”
“… Finals.”
“Naib, want to re-watch Grease after we film?”
Silence.
“I-I’ll take that as a ‘yes’…”
It all started from a question Vera asked in the hallway
“What happened to our lovely couple?”
Margaretha shrugs, “they’ve been like that since Monday!”
“Who’s the lovely couple?” Fiona chimes in.
“Haven’t you heard?” Vera says. “Naib and Eli!”
“W-what?! Aren’t they just best friends?!”
“Oi, continue gossiping and things will go south,” Patricia clicks her tongue.
From a corner, Naib overhears the conversation and feels his cheeks warm. It’s as if he was living in a rom com. The sudden want to kill the tension builds up. Could this be a replay of their reunion?
Friday was when he goes to the music department for advice.
“Aesop, help.”
“No way,” he says as he slings his keyboard over his shoulder. “Go to Norton.”
“Why him?! He’s so unreliable!”
“Fine,” he pauses his tracks. “Communicate.”
Naib gives him a look.
“Unless you want to die with regrets, I guess,” he says as he opens the door. “Just a piece of advice,” he leaves.
“What to do, Poppo?” Eli groans.
A hoot.
“Communicate?”
Poppo stares and an idea strikes into his mind.
…
The camera steadies as black fills the lens, light slowly seeping through its gaze. A shot of Eli and a blurry profile of Naib in the background. Faint shades of the ocean and the horizon blending in the background. Sounds of summer. Taking one last look at the viewfinder, Eli runs to Naib. A far enough to catch the gleaming light on the shore, yet close to seem intimate.
“It’s recording,” he taps his shoulder. A distant yet clear tone, enough to comprehend. “Do we just talk about the topic?”
Naib nods, “t-try to keep it natural. Mr. Desaulniers loves commentaries like these,” he takes his hands and leads him to the beach’s shore. “Let’s sit here.”
The buzz of summer. Lens glimpsing their backs as their shadows cast on the surface.
Eli lets out a forced laugh as they stare into the horizon. “… S-sorry about last week…”
“I-I feel the same… I don’t know what came after me, but I just…” Naib trails off and turns to him. “C-call me petty, but I just… when I saw you wave at Gertrude… I,” he softens his voice. “I don’t get it. If I’m like this… why did I come to your mind with the word ‘special?’”
Eli jolts. The steady beat of his heart. Almost as if he forgot there was a camera recording their very moves.
“… Special,” he trails off as he tries to find words. “I-It’s simple! I just think you’re… fun to be with. You let me be myself…” he thins his lips. “I like you.”
Turning to him, Naib hears the steady beat of his heart.
“N-not in a brotherly nor friendship sense… I love you,” he says. “From the way you talk about film to the way you focus — I don’t even know if you like me back… i-it’s been years since I’ve felt like this, so, I’m just spilling it out — am I rambling? I don’t know, honestly…” he lets out a forced laugh. His voice growing softer the more he says.
“ T-to be honest, I wasn’t that into film until you showed me that movie,” Eli turns to him as he changes the subject.
Naib thins his lips as his heart thumps. Louder than the sea’s waves and the buzz of summer. Was it nervousness, or that they were so close?
“ You brought me into the light of film,” he feels the tips of his ears warm. “… T-truth is, I watched you more than the films you showed me…”
Naib jolts. His heart beating out of his chest. A beat out of tune with the waves.
“I -I feel the same,” Naib nears. A sight similar to their time in the stairwell. Sparkling gazes. A moment too quick to process. Delusions that it would last. Mint lacing breath. A look filled with the stirrings of love. Too near.
“… E-ever since I met you, actually. I wasn’t kidding when I told you were like an angel,” he says as he feels his cheeks warm. “I-I like you because… because…”
The lens captures each glisten of the rays reflecting on the sea’s bed. Every chirp of cicadas and every rotation the earth makes around the sun. Warm purple hues blending in with the night’s sky as the stars open up. Blue mixing in with warmth.
“… You were there.”
Eli hums. Their voices growing softer as the waves overlays their words. Buzz of summer growing louder.
The camera seems like it wasn’t there.
A familiar warmth reaches the back of his palm. For a moment, he felt like everything would be okay. Tense shoulders relaxing as the breeze weaves into his hair.
Naib turns to him, meeting gazes with the same love-struck eyes. Face tinting red against the darkening sky. His heart skips a beat.
“ C-can I?”
A hum.
For a moment, his face was close, so close to fill in the gaps and to feel his breath against his skin. A feeling overpowering the waves and the sound of summer. Warmth he yearned. The feeling of home pressing against his lips. For a moment, he could hear the melody of summer.
…
Black, but the buzzing sound of cicadas. A similar tone to the sizzling heat in summer. For a moment, there is a voice. One velvet and monotone.
“ What’s my definition of something ‘special?’”
The camera fades into a shot of the sinking horizon. Deeper into the ocean. Getting pulled by the sea’s bed as rays glistens over the waters.
A feminine voice, “… Special?”
A shot of hands scavenging a box full of VHS tapes before cutting back to a beaming man. Eyes lifting to show off his teeth-filled grin. He’s in his early twenties. A brunette with childhood innocence tinging his smile. In the background, the sinking horizon still lingers from a window.
The crisp sound of a camera’s shutter before cutting to a man looking on the ground. A cold yet charming young man with silver hair. Too young to have those dark circles. The lens lingers on him before cutting to two people. A dark-haired woman that shares the same vibe as the one earlier. One more intimidating. Beside her, there sits a young woman beaming.
It lingers before cutting to a shot of a man giving the lens a grin as he climbs a stairway into an attic. A grin as bright as the sun creating a halo behind him.
The mechanical sound of a Polaroid rendering a picture. A shaky shot of the city’s buildings blurring. The steady motor drives further away from the bustle.
“Well… it’s simple… really. Something that means the world to you. A love so strong it lingers once the world closes in on itself.”
The camera cuts to a glimpse of a TV screen. A soft glow as the frames of childhood replay.
“ Better than ordinary! Like a bow to complete a bouquet!”
A mature voice, “someone that makes you feel that… isn’t putting you on a pedestal. You feel specialty when the two of you are on the same platform, showing off each other’s talents.”
A shot of two people admiring the sunset before the crisp sound of inserting a VHS tape echoes from the screen. Cutting to black, the title screen fades in: Summer’s Ending Scene. One last echo of the cicadas
Before silence. Suddenly, the chime of a xylophone.
Fading into a warmly lit shot, the camera catches the same man from before.
“ Hello, I’m Eli Clark, twenty-one years old and for me… someone I could call special is Naib Subedar.”
A laugh off-screen echoes as it cuts to a shaky view of the camera chasing after a man on the beach’s shore. The lens glimpsing a smile as the cliché scene of lovers on the beach plays out.
“I-if I remember… we met while we were in kindergarten! He used to scare all of us cause’ of his face until I found him sobbing near the beach!”
It cuts to a close-up of the shoreline. Sea foam sinking into sand.
“When I met him at first… I was just like the other kids! Scared, intimidated— “
A laughs echo from his voice as the camera cuts to a shot of a back. The lecture hall’s scenery filling the empty spaces.
“… My parents were always ambitious, expecting me to do and get my best.”
The camera cuts to a shot of Eli looking out the window of his apartment. Another angle of the same scene. His back obscuring the view as shadows loom over him.
“They were dreamers and wished to live in the city.”
The lens cuts to a scene in an empty road, camera zooming into a sign in the distance: 50 miles away from Oletus.
“… At first, I wasn’t interested in film until Naib found that VHS tape.”
A scene where the camera focuses on a man’s face as he mouths unheard words. His lips curving as he brings up a VHS tape to the camera.
“His father’s work amazed me—specifically a shot where he filmed the seagulls.”
Cut back to the shore, camera panning up into the sky.
“I still remember it. The sound of cicadas, conversations between lovers.”
A pale hand reaches out into the tree’s shade. The sun’s rays brighter than the ones in summer. Bright enough to be a single gleam in the lens.
The screen fades into a view of a man from before. One who seems so joyful talking about the tapes in his hands. Instead of having that vibe, he holds up a nervous and intimidating one.
“N-Naib Subedar. Twenty-two,” he chokes out as his shoulders tense.
It cuts to a lens focusing on his face as he films a tree. The camera seeming to linger on his features instead of his actions before cutting to the same awkward scene as before.
“When I first met him… I thought… thought…” he trails off as his face warms. His cheeks looking red from the eye of the lens.
“I don’t know! I thought you were an angel!”
Laughter off-screen before the sound of a tape rewinding fades in and the screen fades out. Silence once again, but the buzz of summer. A shot where an attic’s window was its focus. It zooms in bright light. Shutter. Wide-shot of the dusty room before panning down to transition into the living room.
Naib’s voice, “my home has a lot of history to it. It was the first home my ma and pa moved into and the one where we… found our love for film.”
Instead of a xylophone, the sound of a piano echoes. Cut back to a shot of Naib leading the camera. Leaves crunching and the scattering shadows of trees.
“My ma told me one day that… pa used to be an aspiring director.”
The camera follows him before cutting to a steady shot of a bouquet and a glimpse of a picture frame. Orchids and daffodils.
“He got inspired by his brother and that’s where we got our VHS tapes and our first camera.”
A sound of a zooming lens. The soft glow of a TV as frames of the past replay. A familiar shot from the opening scene. Naib leading the camera up into the attic.
“He created homemade videos with my ma. His work revolves around that slice of life if you put it into words.”
A shot of the bustling city from a window before panning to transition into a shot of the evergreen streets.
“He says it’s nothing too serious, but I could see his passion and effort put into them every time I replay the tapes.”
The monotone, buzzing sound of a tape’s ending. Fading to black, the piano softens and summer’s buzz comes to life once more. Text fading in: reconciliation. The sound of a VHS’ hiss.
Summer’s buzz with sea’s shore.
Naib’s voice, “I don’t get it.”
A slow, wide-shot of the horizon and the fading ocean line in the distance.
“If I’m like this… why did I come to your mind with the word ‘special?’”
The sound of a violin’s swell. It cuts to a shot of the two sitting near the shore. The same beach and horizon. An intimate vibe as the camera settles itself in a distance. It lingers before cutting to a scene in an apartment. Eli’s back being the lens’ focus. In the screen’s bottom, a glimpse of a finger pokes him.
Eli’s calming tone, “i-it’s simple! I just think you’re… fun to be with. You let me be myself…”
A shot of them walking in their campus, the camera focusing on their legs before cutting to a scene of an owl flying to Eli’s shoulder. The violin mixes in with a piano and eventually, a xylophone. Melody only cutting off by a familiar buzz and a sea’s shore.
“I like you.”
It cuts back to them.
“N-not in a brotherly nor friendship sense… I love you.”
The camera lingers on that shot.
“From the way you talk about film to the way you focus — I don’t even know if you like me back… i-it’s been years since I’ve felt like this, so, I’m just spilling it out — am I rambling? I don’t know, honestly…”
It’s as if you could hear the nervousness shaking his voice.
“I-I feel the same.”
A shot of childhood memories and VHS tapes.
“… E-ever since I met you, actually. I wasn’t kidding when I told you were like an angel.”
Cut back to a shaky camera in a lecture hall, a glimpse of Naib grinning as he takes the lens from the handler.
“I-I like you because… because…”
Black, but the buzz of summer and the sound of waves.
“… You were there.”
Intimate silence.
Naib’s distant voice, as if he was telling a secret, “c-can I?”
A hum and the sound of a tape replaying. Text fading in: end.