iN No TiMe
the light turned green. the woman reached for the boy's hand. he was
seven years old. when they got to the other side of the street, the
boy tugged on her arm to stop her. she looked down... he was no
longer seven.
"you don't have to hold my hand every time we cross the street,
mom. i'm eleven years old now."
she stared at him for a moment and then looked around. she looked
down at her watch, not sure if any of what was taking place was
real... or if it was all just a dream that she simply had not awoken
from.
"can we get something to eat, mom?" the boy asked.
she looked at him for a moment, still not sure what was happening.
"mom?" the boy called her name out... this time more
impatiently.
"yes, honey... yes, i'm sorry."
"can we get something to eat?"
"of course, honey. anywhere you want to go."
"anywhere?"
"well... as long as it's food... we're not going to eat ice cream
if that's what you're thinking."
"ah, come on, mom."
"no, absolutely not... you can do that with your father... and
when you do, please don't tell me."
after a few more pleas, he glanced down both sides of the street....
seeing something suitable, he led the way excitedly while mom
followed.
while walking she began to perspire. she stared at the boy while they
walked, still somewhat bewildered by the circumstances.
after they had sat down and ordered, she went to the bathroom...
shaking her head and mumbling things to herself along the way.
she sat in front of the mirror staring at herself for a few moments,
gently wiping the perspiration around her hairline and forehead,
trying not to smear or remove her makeup. apprehensively, she
returned to the table... or so she tried.
"mom, i'm over here."
not recognizing her son for a few moments, she moved towards the
waving arms.
"mom, are you okay?"
the boy was no longer eleven. he was now 19. there was a cigarette
between his fingertips. she stared down at it.
"come on, mom... don't start lecturing me on the smoking thing
again... you and dad both said we wouldn't talk about it anymore since
i'm leaving for the army next month."
"your what?"
the boy blew the smoke out and stared at his mother.
"mom, are you okay? you look a little pale."
with a concerned look on his face, he got up and put his jacket on.
he helped her get hers on, too.
"let's go home, mom... so you can lay down... you might be coming
down with something."
"you might be right." she said to him as they moved for the
door. she turned around to hold the door for him. he wasn't alone.
there was a young woman with him. there was a big ring on her finger.
the woman leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
"you were right, mom... this place is great."
the boy was no longer 19, he was married and in his late twenties.
"thanks for lunch, mom... so great that you two are getting on so
well. means a lot to the both of us." he kissed her on the
cheek and exited the restaurant.
she smiled at him and let go of the door. it closed on another person
she was unable to recognize.
"thanks a lot, mom. how many of those things have i held open
for you?" he smiled and kissed her, lovingly. it was her
husband. she barely recognized him with all the white in his hair.
when she turned in the direction everyone was walking, her daughter in
law was handing her a baby. the woman walked with the baby until it
became too heavy. the baby slid from her arms onto pavement and began
walking... he had become too big to carry.
a heavy rain began to fall. everyone stopped and reached into their
bags and purses for umbrellas. the woman carefully retrieved hers and
opened it just before a bus arrived and stopped in front of her.
only a crowd of strangers surrounded her, all of whom were waiting for
the same bus. she looked around but wasn't nearly as surprised. she
moved with the crowd towards the entrance of the bus. she sat down
next to another woman. the woman was also in her 80's. after
surveying the weather from the window the woman spoke.
"can't believe it's already starting to rain. i can't stand the
rain"
the bus pulled away as another crowd began forming.
"it'll be gone in no time." she told the woman seated next
to her.
they both nodded their heads in agreement.
Comments and faves
ArTeTeTrA, ndrgrnd, Cheo70, Antοnis, and 75 other people added this photo to their favorites.
ndrgrnd (45 months ago | reply)
great!!!
as usual,
really love your work, genious like you make flickr a real place
Cheo70 (45 months ago | reply)
it all slips away so quickly, hermano...thank you for stealing these moments from time's greedy hands.
Paulete Matos (45 months ago | reply)
Oi! Sou administrador de um grupo chamado Black is Black - Invite only e nós adoraríamos ter isto adicionado ao grupo!
Great!!
Antοnis (45 months ago | reply)
I can see the writing of ruthless time on her face. Brilliant my friend.
biLLy GoMeZ (45 months ago | reply)
thank you ndrgrnd, cheo, paulete, and antonis... i appreciate you all coming by.
Ariasgonzalo (45 months ago | reply)
Que bueno el retrato amigo, con ese paragüas, natural y perfectamente tratado, con esos negros exquisitamente medidos.
Un saludo amigo mio
nosdy / Pierre Belhassen (45 months ago | reply)
Excellent !
minαs (45 months ago | reply)
all the little details in this one are so fascinating...
luisa_m_c_m_cruz (45 months ago | reply)
Great portrait.
Mel Buckpitt [deleted] (45 months ago | reply)
Privileged to hear the creative process & then see the results. Top story & top shot!!
skinnykidrobot (45 months ago | reply)
The umbrella adds a nice light to this
nikko1974 (45 months ago | reply)
Such a sad story........
Great shot to start the week!
Gianni Mazzarelli (45 months ago | reply)
Ciao, sono amministratore di un gruppo chiamato La Febbra. Ci farebbe piacere aggiungere l’elemento al gruppo.
Marco Antonio 13 (45 months ago | reply)
me encanta ,genial.......
Sudoksa (45 months ago | reply)
Superbe mon ami !
davidwellbaum (45 months ago | reply)
i am jealous. so good.
milky-brown (45 months ago | reply)
great one Billy!
marielito (45 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Independentphotos, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
superb convey
ecorn (45 months ago | reply)
Another great pairing of picture and story. Reminds me of Kafka in a way.
matteoprez (45 months ago | reply)
Bless this shot, its story and the woman it it. Great work, as always.
Hel Des (45 months ago | reply)
That would be the most horrible dream one can have, seeing his life going by so fast. Sleeping through it...
Great story Billy.
I really enjoyed that one.
Thanks.
And wonderful picture to illustrate it.
ursusmaior (45 months ago | reply)
Excellent, Billy!
Robbi Hüner (45 months ago | reply)
genial as usual, my friend..
Rolf F. (45 months ago | reply)
great!
{natalie mitchell} [deleted] (45 months ago | reply)
Will you stop making me cry? :) What an incredible way of wording such a phenomenon of life. I'm experienced it - just take a look at my newest upload. It goes by too fast. TOO fast. I've learned if I don't pay attention, I'm going to miss it. OK, more tears (but good ones, I promise). Thank you for being my inspiration on every upload.
Rui Palha (45 months ago | reply)
Excellent story vs image.
rohitsabu. [deleted] (45 months ago | reply)
beautiful story billy. i love the way you have written it. incredibly real and incredibly alive. it takes me anywhere near 15 minutes to comment on your pictures(this is the recovery time i need after seeing it and reading it)... you are a real person billy. deep and emotive. this is what flickr is all about, somewhere along the way we lost that, and your work reminds us of who we are. we are mortal people billy. thanks for reminding us. good luck with whatever you do!
Mark*Saldana (45 months ago | reply)
Another great shot Billy! Your writing is great bro!
ratso3 (45 months ago | reply)
yes!
semimortal79 (45 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called *psycho international*, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
incredible billy! this one is even stronger than the others !
nasha lina (45 months ago | reply)
superior as always!!
Michel Banabila (45 months ago | reply)
amazing, wonderful B+W !
emiliocamarin (45 months ago | reply)
Hola, soy el administrador de un grupo llamado Realidad Ficticia y nos encantaría agregar esto al grupo.
Hi,my friend.Regards.Emilio
ArTeTeTrA (45 months ago | reply)
Time's relativity.....life goes by in a rush....and the more we get older, the more it passes quickly.....the most beautiful things more than anything else.....this is difficult to accept it....although at the same time it's what makes we live everything such intensely as we can....
luis lainsa (AFIAP) (45 months ago | reply)
Excelentes tus últimos retratos !!!
GonçaloSilvestre (45 months ago | reply)
its timeless...i found myself wondering the path ahead...
Terrific.
sakura love (45 months ago | reply)
such an interesting story, like a movie..
Expectation Maximization (45 months ago | reply)
very cool story and love how it ties into the photograph
seen in my contacts' photos...
*bradford* (45 months ago | reply)
you give "stories" a new meaning. thanks for sharing my friend.
j image (45 months ago | reply)
Amazing. Rightfully seen on front page explore. :)
Congrats on another moving image, Billy. You're an artist...
Ahmad-ALattar (45 months ago | reply)
awesome !!!!!!
trasgu1987 (45 months ago | reply)
Me encanta esta imagen
baby7 (45 months ago | reply)
Great shot.
.Kels. (45 months ago | reply)
once again, I had to think and come back before I could comment...the image combined with your words- just brilliant. sometimes we wish we could just make time stand still- and just capture a moment in time forever. I know I do with my little girl all the time....thank you for this reminder.
malhier.malda.undsonstso? (45 months ago | reply)
you're so good in describing situations... your words are so true. i always look forward to reading your texts!!!
benjamin paya (45 months ago | reply)
wonderful, perfect angle
Kirsty Mitchell (45 months ago | reply)
beautiful one Billy, the wrinkles on her hand and forehead are incredible..... hope you are doing ok and hanging in there.
Noof Mohammed <3 (45 months ago | reply)
Explored
sabrina verrando (45 months ago | reply)
magic
andyosullivan (45 months ago | reply)
the detail...and the darkness...love it.