The Pictures I Didn’t Take

I went out without my camera.

A few years earlier, this would have ignited my insecurities.
Am I still a photographer when I’m stripped of the camera?
What if something happens and I need to take a picture?

On this sunny afternoon, I abandoned my camera on purpose. I was in Cinque Terre with one of my oldest friends, a brilliantly talented photographer. We walked. We talked. We stopped. We ate. Then we walked again. We reached the bottom of the hill and stood facing the sea.