Matthew Rosa

Ms. Gardner

English 10, Period 0

3 September 2014

A Picture that Lasts Forever

The year was 2069 and I am still speechless as to what happened the other night. Every

year my family and I would travel north of Tahoe and hike up a mountain. We started traveling

to the mountain since I was around ten years old, and stopped when I was out of high school.

Something very strange happened when I decided to revisit the mountain years later. I have had

the urge to travel back on the mountain and take some photography of space.

The night began as I stepped out of my car and trudged my way up the steep mountain.

The summit of the mountain was eight thousand feet up. I made my way up the one thousand

foot hike arriving just before the sunset. I found my camera bag and got out all of my equipment.

Everything was set up and ready to go, all I had to do was wait for the amazing view to greet my

eyes. I had my camera on timelapse mode and needed to check it midway through the night. I got

up from my tent to check on the camera but in the midst I could here some shuffling outside. I

was on the peak of a mountain that people usually don't go to during the day so I had no clue as

to why something or someone was up here, and at midnight.

I grasped my flashlight as quickly as I could and peaked my eyes out of the tent. I saw a

younger boy laying down on the ground staring up the sky. I was taken back to see a young man

on top of a mountain in the middle of the night with no one around him.

“Excuse me sir, what are you doing up here,” I questioned.

“I am dreaming about one day going up into space but instead I am taking photographs. I

love the view.” The young man exclaimed as I questioned who he was.

At this moment in time I knew exactly who he was. He was my younger self. I was the

only fifteen year old teenager who would go up on the top of a mountain at midnight and dream

about one day exploring endless space but in the meantime taking photographs. I also knew it

was my younger self because he had a camera capturing the moment at first hand. I would be

doing the same thing.

“Hey is your name Matthew?” I asked him.

“Yes it is, how did you know?” He questioned with a odd look on his face.

“I remember doing exactly what you are doing but fifty five years ago. I am your older

self.” He gave me a strange look as if I was some creature from another planet.

“If you are really my older self then what was your favorite movie?” He asked me.

“Inception. It has been my favorite movie since the day it came out. I love it!” I

exclaimed to him.

“So is there anything you want to know about your older self? Mind you, I am not going

to tell you too much, only minor facts.” I asked him expecting a flood of questions in my face.

“I only have one question and that is did you pursue your career in computer science, or

did you take up something else?” My younger self asked me.

“I am not going to tell you. You will have to find out for yourself. Trust me, it all ends up

well.” I told him.

It pleased me knowing that he did not want to know much about his future self. I knew

what I wanted to be when I was younger and I set my goal in sight. I think it is better for a young

man to live his life in the moment and not know what to expect. After an awkward silence of not

talking to each other I questioned how I got in this position to see my younger self. Am I in a

dream, or is he dreaming? We had nothing to talk about because we were each other. We

practically knew each other so their was nothing to be said about one another.

He noticed my photography equipment and questioned its existence.

“What is that camera you got over their?” He pointed to my timelapse camera.

“I have had a recent hobby on photography.” I stammered in a glee tone, “I have always

been interested in space, as you would know.”

“Yes I love photography and space. I take pictures everywhere I go.” He told me.

“How about we take a picture to document the moment?” I walk over to my camera and

turn the lense so it is facing us instead of the sky. I set the mode for a capture in five seconds. We

stand next to each other smiling and soon enough the camera flashes blinding us both.

I wake up in what seems to be my tent. I jolt awake like nothing happened, when really

so much happened I couldn't explain. I had so many questions bouncing through my brain at one

time I couldn't take it. Where did my younger self go? Was that a dream? How is it morning

already? I recount on the dream I had last night and questioned whether it was dream or not. But

to be true I would never know. I gathered myself to go outside and check the camera’s photos.

Sure enough the last image taken was a picture of me and my younger self.