Snapshot



Many cultures believe in the idea that cameras can steal your soul. I mean, I don’t blame them; just think back to the days of when the camera was first invented. It was almost magical, you know? Being able to capture the image of a person – it’s only natural people would fear that their souls were being claimed in those little pieces of paper. The fact that something so important, so eternal, could be destroyed with such little course of action, such as tossing the photo into a fire.

And if you think about it for a second, it makes sense. Like, look at ghosts – or whatever proof people have been able to produce about them. I’ve tried ghost hunting, séances, everything, and I’ve got nothing to show for them. Years of searching for evidence of something after the show, wasted. It’s a little upsetting, to be honest, comparing my results to the hundreds of videos and photos online. And even out of those, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. Some days, I find my face pressed right up to the electronic glass, trying to match those pixels with a face from my memories.

But maybe that just proves my theory. Maybe when you die, there’s a book of rules about the afterlife we’re given. And somewhere in that book, between article you-can-pass-through-walls and section there-are-others-worse-than-us, it states you can be captured by a camera, so you better watch out. Makes the Ghostbusters look like idiots, huh? Imagine that; just one picture, and the remainder of your existence is dedicated to collecting dust and fading away in someone’s album. At least when you’re alive, you still have your body. But when you’re dead? That’s it. Your spirit is all you have. So maybe she’s already been caught. Maybe she’s been put away in someone else’s book, depriving me of any chance to see her one last time.

And there’s another thing! What do you look like when they take that fated shot? What do you look like otherwise? Do you appear the way you wish, the way you will your ethereal form to? What about how you looked when you died? If that’s the case, then maybe I don’t want to see her again; I already cradled her bleeding skull once before, I don’t need to be reminded of that scene. Or maybe they appear the way the living sees them? Oh, how I pray for that to be the truth.

What do you mean you don’t understand? You’re the one who was asking why I was doing this. Now, sit still for a second. You shouldn’t even be able to move this much with those restraints.

SNAP!

You wanna know what I think, personally? I believe that every image taken, every vanity driven selfie, steals a piece of one’s soul. If you’re really that egotistical to constantly need to remind others and yourself of your beauty, maybe you don’t deserve a soul. Like you. Posting every day to that goddamn Instagram, striking jealously and lust in hearts alike.

Your generation… you’re so full of yourselves. Everything is me me me, now now now. Instant access to everything, at anytime. No one ever taught you humility, respect, honour. You tap away at your little hearts and up arrows, hoping that someone will repay you in kind, just to get that little rush of endorphins. You willingly splinter your souls for social appeal. And maybe if you were so goddamned pig headed, my wife would still be here. What the hell was even worth taking a picture of while you were driving, huh? Everything would be blurry, out of focus, disgusting!

But you didn’t care. You need to let everyone know how wonderful your life was in that moment. Not before getting in the car about how good it was going to be, or after the trip was over and recounting how good it was. No. You need to give another part of your spirit away to the Internet right then and there.

I’ve already collected all of the other pieces from your Instagram and Facebook. Now I just have to capture the rest. But don’t worry. I’ll make good use of your soul. Maybe a bargaining chip during my next séance, if I can contact Him? Maybe He’ll bring her back. Provided no one has caught her on film yet. So piece by piece, picture by picture, I’ll get there.

SNAP!

Do you feel empty yet?