‘I made a record of it.’
Meg mouth falls open. ‘And that’s why you can remember it.’
‘And why I didn’t black out this time!’
‘Wow.’
‘I knew I had to. When the vision was fading, part of me knew I had to get a picture of it. I just wish I’d photographed whatever I saw on the ferry.’
‘Why didn’t you?’
A chill settles on my cheeks as I remember a seagull screeching.
‘Maybe I did, but I broke my camera earlier when I blacked out at my nan’s.’
She frowns. ‘What about the memory card?’
I look up. How the fuck did I forget the memory card?
‘We threw the camera out.’
‘But the memory card was in it?’
I close my eyes, thinking back. ‘I suppose.’
‘We have to go see if it’s still there. What if you got a better picture than this?’ She points at the photo on my phone. ‘It’s obviously still pretty cool, but…’
‘It’s a shit picture though. Half of it is blasted out.’
Meg drums her fingers on the table then slams her palms down. ‘Wait, the camera was digital, right?’
I nod.
‘Well, that’s why it’s not working. We need to go analogue!’
‘Huh?’
‘Trust me. Phone cameras, digital cameras, they manipulate light and you have to adjust a million settings. But photographic film receives the light. It imprints it. It takes what’s there and creates an image. What we need for next time is an analogue camera!’
‘I know where we can get one,’ I say. ‘At my nan’s. We can look for the memory card and pick up one of Dad’s old cameras at the same time.’
‘Let’s go.’ Meg grins. ‘Meet you outside. I need the toilet.’
I stare at the photo of the hotel as I wait outside for Meg. The vision was so real. I close my eyes to remember what I saw and a thrill flows through me.
‘All right?’
I open my eyes to see Paul walking towards me. I cough, which then turns into a hiccup.
‘You OK?’ he says.
I fumble with my phone and push it into my pocket. Did he see the photo? ‘Yeah, yeah. I’m actually great, thanks.’
Actually? Actually?
‘How’re you?’ I add quickly. ‘Where’s Ellen?’
He rolls his eyes. ‘Apparently I wasn’t taking the shopping seriously enough so I’ve been excused. What you up to? Wanna hang out?’
