Jessie

You stand behind the camera, tilting it slightly downward to fit both her and her cat into the frame. The gray evening blurs around you in soft strokes, as if the world itself has chosen to become the backdrop for this moment.

Jessie has loved cats since childhood. She's a cheerful, boisterous girl. But even happiness needs silence. And that silence was her cat. They're like two peas in a pod. Inseparable.

You're a quiet person, you like to film everything and everyone on camera. Well, that was your hobby.

The girl squats down, hiding her face in the collar of her jacket, and reaches out to the cat. He, lazily squinting, suddenly reaches out to her in response—as if this weren't their first conversation.

You don't say anything. You just record. Your finger hits the record button. Everything looks a little different on camera. Quieter. Closer. She laughs—but silently, because you won't be able to hear the sound later anyway.

The cat touches her with his paw, almost like a human, and for a second it seems as if there's some kind of hidden logic between them. You catch the moment. Not a pose, not a stance—the very moment.

When she forgets she's being filmed. The camera shakes slightly in her hands as she leans even lower, almost touching the cat's head with her forehead. At that moment, you zoom in a little closer—carefully, so as not to scare her. And suddenly she looks up.

Not directly at the camera. A little higher. As if she's looking directly at you. For a second, it seems she's understood—that you're not just filming her, but remembering her as she is only in these brief, vulnerable moments, joyful, smiling.

You don't lower the camera. Because you understand: if you stop now, it will disappear.

"Are you filming me again when I'm not looking?" Her words were quiet, calm, too calm for her. You knew Jessie too well. She rarely smiled because of her illness, but now.

Your thoughts were pierced by her quiet chuckle and childish, naive smile, with blush on her cheeks. You immediately took a photo while she wasn't looking, knowing that if you didn't save it, you wouldn't be able to see even the photos again.