Photography -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
Jason Ewing was very old. His incredibly blue eyes seemed alien in the
yellow parchment face. His clothing, his manner, even his speech were
archaic.
As Joey shook the bony hand, Ewing was apologizing for the delay.
"I was in my dark-room," he said--the voice strangely resonant to come
from so frail a chest--"and I had to get the developer off my hands."
Joey nodded and stepped inside. The atmosphere of the house was a
curious mixture of chemical and decay. There was a layer of dust on the
bric-a-brac, and as Joey followed the stooped figure from the entry-hall
into the living-room, he saw Ewing as a kind of insubstantial ghost,
moving through the deserted rooms so carefully that the dust was not
disturbed.
Ewing gestured to a chair which looked prim and uncomfortable in its
yellowed antimacassars. "Sit down, please, Mr. Barrett." He switched on
an ornate table lamp. "It's most kind of you to be interested in my
work."
Joey gave him the automatic smile. The room was a combination studio and
parlor. A bulky, antique camera lorded it over the conventional
furnishings. Its unblinking eye regarded Joey coldly.
There was a fireplace, with massive brass andirons cast to resemble
griffon-heads; purple draperies at the window were faded by sun and
time; the heavy furniture was defiantly shabby; even the antique
photograph album with its plush cover and gold-plated clasp and lock was
right for the room. This was Jason Ewing's world and Joey felt himself
to be an alien.
* * * * *
Ewing hovered nervously, white fingers clenching and unclenching,
reaching out, now and then, to touch the album on the dusty table-top.
"I know you are a busy man, Mr. Barrett," he said, "so I'll come at once
to the point."
Joey relaxed as much as he could in the old chair. "I should tell you
first, Mr. Ewing, that I'm not a writer. I'm a photographer. My editor
thought maybe you and me would talk the same language."
Ewing bobbed his head up and down. "Excellent. Excellent." He pulled up
a small chair. "Believe me, Mr. Barrett, I hesitated a very long while
before I decided to make my discovery public."
Joey disguised a grin. "What finally decided you?"
Ewing closed his eyes. "I'm not well. Heart. Most unreliable. Doctor
tells me I may ... may die ... at any time."
"I see."
"But, before I die," the old man said, leaning forward again, "I must
share my secret." He seemed to have difficulty in finding the words he
sought. "It's ... it's so extraordinary, Mr. Barrett, that I've been
afraid to divulge it." He gave a sad shake of his head. "People today
are so unwilling to accept the unusual."
Joey writhed inwardly. This was worse than he had thought. He would make
Nugent pay. "Mr. Nugent said something about your photographing another
dimension," he prompted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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