Aster woke up before dawn’s break. It was an old habit that never vanished, most times he would turn over and get more hours of sleep but he couldn’t today. He couldn’t suppress the memory of using the decorative camera. The strong magnetism that didn’t allow him another wink of sleep.

He rolled off the couch and tiptoed upstairs to his room, where Luna was fast asleep, for his camera. With it in hand he paused, reminiscent of why he originally bought this.

‘The farmer rises with his farm; the business man rises with the stock’s bells. The photographer rises with the sun to immortalize thirty seconds of a golden hour.’ His father told him. It was the only time he got to spend with his father who was always working. It was a pleasant memory, one of few, and wanted Luna to have a similar experience.

“Luna…” He whispered as he walked up to her still form.

“Luna,” He repeated as he knelt down next to the bed with a light shake of her shoulder.

“Luna,” With the third call Luna’s eyes squinted paired with her body stretching out under the covers.

“Good Morning,” Aster worsened her bedhead.

“Good Morning,” Her sweet voice hoarse as she closed her eyes.

“I know it is early, but there is a sight you can only see if you get moving now.” He encouraged with a slight laugh.

“Carry me…” Her hushed voice demanded, still in a half-asleep state. Aster didn’t contest, Luna’s head rested on his shoulder as he carried her to the closet for today’s attire.

===

The drive to the location was not long, and Luna was peacefully drowsy in her car seat, the sun still not broken over the horizon.

“Why so early?” Luna questioned.

“To immortalize what no one would otherwise see.”

“Immortalize?” It was a foreign word to Luna.

“To make last forever.”

“Couldn’t it come later? I’m tired.” She complained.

Aster chuckled, he was no different the first time.

‘If it such a majestic sight why do we need to be the ones to immortalize it?’

‘Because we are the only ones here. Someone else in the world is doing the same, but their image will be infinitely different.’

“I hated it the first time I did it too. I remember complaining the entire ride. Guess what though?”

“What?” Luna was more interested upon hearing him admit he was no different from her.

“I returned the same the next day without argument.” He spoke somberly, nostalgic for when the next morning his alarm was set so as to awake his father himself that time.

‘Dad! Dad! The sun is waiting for us!’ Life felt so different now.

===

As the first rays of light poked over the beach ocean horizon. It was the same location his father first brought him. A sentimental location that he returned to plenty of times over the decades since the first outing.

“We are here.” He informed Luna who impatiently fiddled with her buckle. Face bright with expectation of what would greet her. Aster silently watched Luna bounce off the ground into a dash to the water clouded in a sheet of fog.

“It’s so pretty!” Luna gushed, swooned by the lustrous colors sky that mirrored on the waves that broke over top the veil. Dawn’s fragmented lights pierced the shroud.

“This is why.” He snapped a picture of Luna’s silhouette against the orange sky. Of when the waves crashed the shore and her tiny steps compressed the sand.

“Come!” She encouraged with her hand outstretched to the Aster. A scene captured as her iridescent eyes sparkled and the background was blown out white. It didn’t matter how beautiful the surroundings she made them ugly. Of her petite hand that demanded your companionship.

“Aster!” Luna hollered for his attention. She walked back towards him her nose inches from the lens.

“Come!” She tugged on his shirt for him to accompany her.

‘If you are always immortalizing the scenes when do you get to live them?’ Eun’s voice resounded in his head.

“I’m going, I’m going.” He laughed as he placed the camera in the sand. Luna in her efforts to persuade him to move had adjusted the timer for a picture, unbeknownst to Aster. So frozen crooked in time were the shadowed full-face smiling figures of Aster and Luna looking at each other hand in hand on their stroll to the sunrise ocean.

===

Luna fidgeted in her seat the entire drive back home, eager to see the pictures from the outing. Once the car was in park and unbuckled from her cage she bolted indoors to the computer upstairs, “Hurry! Hurry! We have to immoralice the sun!” In her zealous fever, she didn’t say the word immortalize correctly.

Aster only shook his head with a laughing smile at the show as he slowly trailed behind. Once he was out of sight she would be giddily jumping in place until he would appear around the corner. She was seated in his chair, her short legs excitedly swung while he plugged in the camera and reached around her to load the program for editing photos.

“She’s cute!” She pointed at an old photo, it was a night photo of Eun with blond hair in the neon-lit city streets.

Before he could reply, “Kelly!” She cheered and pointed at the picture of Kelly on her graduation night donned in full cap and gown.

“Marlena!” She exclaimed, keenly picking out pictures of the people she knew.

“Great job,” Each of these old images were memories buried deep at this point in life. But with each photo, Luna pointed out Aster was reminded of the time with vivid recollection.

“It’s you!” It was a simple photo of a younger him smiling at the camera, the city lights his backdrop.

“Correct, it is me. And this…” He scrolled down to today’s photos. “This is you.” He clicked into the photo of her reaching out to the camera.

“Wow!” An airy exclamation at the image. She was star-struck, her hand out towards the screen to hold her own hand.

“This is why we get up at the early hours. No one else could have taken these photos.” He slowly went image by image to allow her time to take them in. The duo was silent through the process until the final photo.

“It’s us...” Luna quietly said hesitant towards her words. Aster opened and closed his mouth but didn’t let out a word.

“Let’s start with this one,” He eventually blurted out.

He led her through every slider, messed with every preset, and eventually, the pair settled on one that blurred the background and sharpened their features. They were the focal point of the display and they edited with so in mind.

“Do you see why we get up early now?” Aster questioned.

Luna didn’t respond to him, enchanted by the photo of them. The tears pooled at the ridge of her eyes and threatened to stain her cheeks.

“Luna?” Aster questioned, concerned about what might be bothering her. In an effort to console her, he rubbed her back.

“Luna?” He repeated after the silence continued.

She rubbed the tears away before they could fall before she answered, “Thank you,” She spoke in a hushed tone. Aster found himself hugged around the waist, ensnared by her thin arms.

“No Luna, thank you.”

Tomorrow is another day, let today be the calm before the storm.