Most days her dreams are black and white.
Their blood is black ink, their heartbeat the steady click and whir of the printing press. Their flesh and clothes are subtly off-white, paper smooth or permanently crinkled. She lives their lives under streetlamps, in the cold glare of bus-platform lights; and when she goes to sleep she relives those moments, reweaves them into new stories, slides her fingers through their dark ink and paints new pictures. Her faraway friends dance in smoky bars, whisper newfound secrets on long walks down moonlit country roads. She sees them in pictures in her mind, and feels their presence more acutely than a thousand real conversations.
But tonight she’s in every picture in her mind.
Tonight her dreams are memories, sunsplashed laughter and her own heartbeat. Tonight everything is technicoloured, and she can taste the difference. Music echoes from a thousand smiles, her throat burns from screaming joy, and the sunlight plays out, over and over, warming her skin as she draws the blankets closer to her chin.
Most nights she stands alone, and never feels it. She has her friends, three-dimensional in her mind, and they are company she has grown to love over dusty years. But tonight – oh, tonight! – she is the protagonist in her own story. Tonight she could write a thousand paragraphs about her travels, and the adventures she has had will fuel her dreams for nights and nights to come.
Tonight she is in the pictures in her mind; in every single one.
Image courtesy of Stuart Thursby. Stuart is an art director and photographer, currently adventuring in the wilds of Germany, where this photo was taken. To see more of his work, or to check out his portfolio, please visit StuartThursby.com.