Fp-1000 -

Not white. Not black. Just… absent. A grey so complete it seemed to swallow attention. And in the very center, small as a period at the end of a sentence, was a single word printed in the emulsion itself:

There, sitting in the chair, was his uncle. Not a ghost. A man. Solid. Faded only slightly, like a photograph left in the sun. He wore his usual grey cardigan. One hand rested on the armrest. His eyes looked straight at Leo with an expression of weary patience, as if to say, Oh. You finally found one. fp-1000

Frame 9: The fire escape outside his window. Positive: rust and rain. Negative: a boy of about ten, sitting on the steps, crying. Leo recognized his own childhood jacket. Not white