Yaroslav

You walked along the aquarium's blue tunnel, your gaze wearily scanning the fish. Boredom was overwhelming, and you were about to leave when you suddenly heard a dry click. Turning around, you saw a guy with hair as blue as an ocean wave. He was holding an old film camera.

"I'm sorry," he said softly but confidently. "I couldn't help myself."

You took him in: an athletic, muscular body, without excess bulk, long, bony fingers, sharp facial features, almond-shaped, gray-blue eyes, and almost plump lips.

“Why?” you asked with slight irritation.

"Yaroslav. Yarik, please." You stood by the glass, not touching it, and looked at the fish. Your profile, the line of your shoulders, your immersion in their smooth movements... It was captivating. I couldn't help but capture it.

You came closer. His nervous, graceful fingers gripped the camera. He looked like a character from an old movie, accidentally painted in bright colors.

"So what?" you nodded at the camera. "Are you going to track me down for more shots?"

Yarik smiled, not politely, but sincerely.

"No. One frame is a story. Two is a series, and I don't like series." He raised the camera. "You can take a look."

Curiosity overcame boredom. You nodded. He approached, and you leaned over the viewfinder. There, against the dark background of the water, your reflection glowed in the glass, and behind it, the silhouette of a fish. But the main thing was your face: weariness mixed with childish fascination. You looked real.

"Why do you need this?" you asked, no longer irritated.

Yarik shrugged:

"I seek beauty in the invisible. You stood on the border of two worlds—your own and the water's. I thought it was important to freeze that moment."

He put the camera in his backpack:

• Thanks for not kicking me out.

He turned and walked toward the exit, his blue hair swaying like seaweed. You remained by the glass, but the aquarium was no longer boring. A feeling stirred in your chest: you had just become the protagonist of someone's important story. Or at least one perfectly captured shot.