35

A small boy sat on a broken curb, looking down at a dirty, smudged ball in his hands. It was worn from play, clearly overused. His hair was dark and messy, his lashes long against the pale skin of his cheeks. You couldn't see his eyes, but in the background, two other kids played together. They were out of focus, not meant to be the focus of the shot. Staring at his shoes, also dirty and worn from use, Elena found her eyes welling up unexpectedly.

"Goodness, that's a bit depressing, isn't it?" a deep voice came from next to her.

Elena glanced over her shoulder. Grayson Kendrick was staring at the photo, his head tilted to the side as he frowned at the image.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you," he told her.

Elena shook her head, "Oh you didn't startle me, sir. It's fine," She clasped her hands in front of her body and returned her gaze to the photograph. "It's moving, I think." Grayson hummed, tucking his hands into his pockets. The disbelieving sound made her smile. "You disagr