Several summers ago, I was in Sheffield, England, studying at a university there. Since there was no class to attend during summer months, I started to spend my weekends visiting some of the villages in the Peak District, the country’s famous mountain region to the West of Sheffield. I bought a guidebook of the area, and each weekend I’d choose a village to explore just by myself.
One weekend, I found myself in a particularly scenic village called Bakewell. After getting off the bus, I walked to the tourist office and learned about a hiking trail around the village. On such a warm sunny day, nothing felt more tempting than taking a nice stroll in the beautiful countryside. With a map in my hands, I started following the footpath.
Just as I came out onto the trail outside the village centre leading to the march and woodlands, figures of a young man and a young woman snagged my attention. They must be on their way home from school. With their bags on their back, they sat on a fence side by side, engaged in a deep conversation apparently unaware of the people who passed by them. The smiles on their faces burst with happiness, and the long gaze they exchanged was full of tenderness.
Under the bright blue sky, the two figures on the fence felt like a perfect painting, a moment captured to last forever.