Natalia woke up early in the morning. She lay on the folding bed as she had fallen asleep the previous evening, still wearing her outerwear and covered with a prickly camel blanket. The house was empty and cold. The dual-circuit boiler hadn't worked since yesterday, and the old electric oil heater clearly couldn't handle the volume of the room.
The girl stretched, adjusted the high, thick collar of her knitted sweater—striped beige and brown like fir trees and leaping deer—and unplugged the heater from the extension cord, replacing it with a bulky electric kettle. Running her fingers through her fiery-red hair, which had become tangled overnight, she tied it into a ponytail with a rubber band and began to rummage through her small backpack with monkey-like agility.
The previous tenants had not bothered to leave any furniture behind. Therefore, both the kettle, the backpack, and a small case for a mirror camera were placed directly on the floor next to the folding bed. However, in this utterly uncomfortable house, one could appreciate the geometry of space and sense a special visual magic of constructive emptiness, demanding to be filled.
Yesterday, Natalia spent almost two hours capturing individual details that seemed interesting to her: unevenness of the boards, fragments of supporting beams, separate scratches and dents disrupting the seamless textures of walls, floors, and ceilings. Probably, all of this would soon be hidden under new finishes after she decided to move permanently, and this information would be lost forever—or at least for a long time. The true appearance of the room would be concealed by standard, faceless wallpaper, wall panels, flooring, and ceiling tiles. It would take a year or two before the new surfaces naturally acquired their own texture again. And in a sense, it would already be an entirely different space.
The kettle bubbled and clicked, releasing a stream of hot steam into the cold air. The girl poured boiling water into the lid of a thermos and added instant coffee from a packet. Not the best option, but quite suitable when nothing else was available. She simply couldn't deny herself a morning cup of coffee. The girl slowly sipped the overly hot, overly sweet, and overly artificial drink, closing her eyes in pleasure.
Fully awake now, she once again surveyed the empty house, wrapped a long orange scarf around her neck, slung the case with her trusted SLR camera over her shoulder, and confidently stepped out into the autumn forest.
In the slightly nose-tingling coolness of the morning air, one could feel the approaching winter. The forest had already begun to bare itself in places, scratching the clear blue sky with sharp black branches like claws. But the gold of the still-unshed leaves still glowed brightly, as if giving back all the sunlight they had absorbed during the summer.
Natalia took the SLR camera out of its case, opened the lens, and with a click turned on the camera, which responded with a light welcoming beep. Now the girl was ready for her photo hunt. She started shooting quite early: her grandfather had given her a small but quite good camera back in school. Since then, she hardly remembered a time when she parted with her lens. The desire to photograph everything—starting with her breakfast, reflections in the mirror, and ending with her own legs framed in the shot—quickly passed. Natalia decided to take photography seriously and became more selective in choosing subjects to shoot.
At first, like many others, she imagined herself as a photographer creating unique images in her original photo series. From the outside, the process looked very aesthetic and attractive and also promised a decent income. But by the tenth time, Natalia literally felt nauseated by yet another dull chicken with puffed-up lips wanting to capture herself as a forest nymph. Looking at her new client, the girl repeatedly caught herself thinking that nothing worthwhile would come out of this swampy kikimora anyway.
And one fine day, she simply didn't show up for the photoshoot. After spending two or three days in a depressed state, the girl idly reviewed her entire archive and then uploaded it entirely online for paid download. Again, everything in a row: her breakfast, her legs in the frame, treetops, views from the window... To her surprise, within minutes the first photograph was sold. A very old shot of a pine cone lying on a stump, which she had taken back when she was a schoolgirl with her first camera given to her by her grandfather. The girl was inspired and picked up her camera again.
Quickly understanding all the benefits of digital photography and tasting success, Natalia threw herself into her work with renewed vigor. Studying download statistics, she determined that landscape photography and nature sketches brought her the most income. Various macro shots featuring leaves, berries, and insects sold exceptionally well for website and magazine design; extensive landscapes were eagerly purchased by glossy magazine editors and advertisers for their printed materials; and photos filled with grass, foliage, or pebbles were enthusiastically used as textures by computer game developers.
Gradually, Natalia's digital collection included every conceivable and inconceivable shot related to spring and summer themes—almost everything she could capture during long walks through city parks, squares, and courtyards. By autumn, the girl decided to prepare more thoroughly and came up with the idea of moving to a rural setting. Finding a suitable place didn't take long. After filtering real estate listings by price, she immediately stumbled upon a house she instantly fell in love with. It was spacious, with a triangular roof, huge stained-glass windows reaching almost to the ceiling, two large studio rooms on the ground floor, and an improvised second level under the roof—and most importantly, completely empty, without any trace of previous residents' lives.
That very evening, Natalia impulsively paid a deposit, and the next day, having collected the cherished keys, she went to inspect her future home. Neither the old automatic water heater, which refused to work, nor the complete lack of lighting fixtures upset the delighted buyer. She was already dreamily imagining how she would arrange everything here into a haven for a solitary photographer.
For now, however, the girl simply continued doing what she loved, repeatedly pressing the shutter button and each time thinking that she could never have captured such a vibrant and striking image in the cursed dusty city. Walking along a forest path and frequently turning off it in search of interesting views, she gradually ventured deeper into the woods and unexpectedly found herself near a river. Capturing the view of the water and the opposite bank, photographing a wooden bench covered with yellowed leaves and a close-up of a lone leaf lying on old cracked planks, she focused on the branches of a huge, sprawling willow tree. Its elongated leaves gracefully hung against the backdrop of the water, beautifully blurred by sunlight reflecting in short-focus lenses.
After taking several shots, Natalia suddenly sensed someone's presence and turned around. On one of the benches standing along the water like a small makeshift promenade, sat a man. He seemed strange and somewhat detached to her. At least, he sat completely motionless, thoughtfully gazing at the water, probably completely absorbed in his own thoughts. The girl automatically raised her camera, looked at the man through the viewfinder, and was about to press the button when she stopped. Suddenly, the overly vivid memory of pretentious "beauties" with plump lips flashed before her eyes, even making her wince. Besides, as the girl reasonably concluded, justifying her decision, such a photo was unlikely to be bought by anyone. Without specifying the name of the model involved in the shoot, commercial use would be difficult. Online buyers are reluctant to deal with photographs featuring random people.
She once again carefully examined the willow, glanced around, and walked further into the forest, where bright crimson crowns of aspen trees were visible.