Opening of The Snapshot:

I've had the idea for a story for a few days now, and I've begun fleshing it out a bit. This, I just wrote for the heck of it, as part of Karan Malhotra's background. Karan is a young photographer, and this piece gives just a glimpse at his story. It doesn't really explore his character much, as I just wanted to hint at what's to come in his young life.

THE SNAPSHOT

The ocean was more still than it had been in a very long time. The water barely lapped at the shore. The moon illuminated every shimmer, every slight movement, every detail on the beach — including the young man seated alone, gazing out toward the horizon.

Karan Jai Malhotra used to be a photographer. Photographing people, animals, nature — life — was in his blood. From the age of nine, when he'd snapped his first shot, he knew he could do nothing else if he was to be truly happy. He worked hard, sacrificing most of the following ten years in order to perfect his craft. For a time, he was very successful — and truly happy.

Then something happened to change his life for the worse. Something so horrific, he swore never to pick up a camera again. His zest for life and capturing it on film were great, but what they did to him was much greater. They almost broke him, and for a time, he wanted to stop living.

“They” were a wealthy couple, ex-patriots from somewhere in Iowa in the United States. “They” were Ivan and Charlotte Wade, wealthy business people, patrons of the arts, well-liked celebrities in their own rite — with a very dark secret.

Karan had read about them in the news, but never in his worst nightmare would he ever have suspected them to be harboring such a deep, dark secret as the one he would unwittingly uncover with just one casual snapshot. That one snapshot would turn his life upside down.

Text copyright © 2010 by Lois Eighmy