STORY AND PHOTOS BY AMBER KIDNER
This installment from our resident contributor based in India was inspired by Lydia Davis’s very short stories.
Photos were taken on an unpredictable Holga.
TREE
The guard said I couldn’t use my tripod.
I said, “Come on,” a lot. Finally my husband said, “Let it go.”
After that, most of the pictures I took, using the ground for support, were just too soft for my liking, but this one is as sharp as the Holga can make it.
And after all that I prefer looking up at this tree from below anyway.
ORANGES
I love oranges, especially as fresh orange juice. It’s a good thing that oranges grow in India.
FAIR WARNING
Don’t slide down this slide. It’s not firmly in the ground.
Also, it’s very rusty and on a hot day it will burn your butt.
Ouch.
HALF EATEN
Aidan will eat part of an apple but he will not eat the whole thing.
The remainder just sits on the kitchen counter.
Waiting.
HE’S GONE
I can’t remember why he got up to leave. Whatever the reason, though, it must have been compelling.
TABLE
We sat in a corner of the café at a tiny table. Its surface somehow managed to accommodate all four glasses of water plus a card game while we waited for our lunch.
When new friends ask her where she’s moved to St Louis from, she gulps and says, “India.” Back in the States after 15 years abroad, Amber Kidner is working to settle her family and discover what this new season of life holds for her. She hopes for personal flourishing and emerging beauty in the lives of those around her.