Matis Pickford

‚The Field Project’ They had been in Indonesia for nearly three weeks, and the rhythm of the project had begun to take over everything — the sunrise briefings, the endless humidity, the sound of the ocean somewhere beyond the dense green. The NGO’s mission was simple on paper: to help restore a coral reef system off the coast of Flores, and to document the process for awareness campaigns. He was the project lead, the one who kept the chaos from collapsing in on itself — calm, methodical, and careful with his words. People respected him, even feared disappointing him a little. They was the coordinator, the person who somehow made things work. Translating, organizing, talking to local divers, smoothing every edge he couldn’t reach. They were sunlight where he was still water. And then there was the partner — charming on the surface, but sharp, selfish, always needing to be the center of attention. They smiled, but it didn’t reach their eyes anymore. He noticed it first: the tension, the little sighs, the way they sometimes flinched at a careless word. He shouldn’t have noticed. He shouldn’t have cared. But in a place where the world felt half-forgotten, where the night air was heavy with rain and electricity, it was impossible not to. Because somewhere between coral fragments and chaos, he’d realized: He’d been in love with them for a very long time. (34, 6‘1, image from Pinterest)