NHaseeb – Tribute in Light

I was sitting in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I was waiting. It was 7:00 p.m. In my head, I was expecting something spectacular to happen. I was anticipating two bright columns of light to suddenly shoot up in the sky and pierce through the clouds, illuminating the sky over downtown Manhattan. But nothing exciting happened. I waited ten minutes, fifteen minutes; nothing happened. Suddenly my friend noticed the faint gleam of light in the sky across the river. It almost looked like sunshine coming through the clouds. But I knew the gleam in the clouds was not sunshine, because two barely noticeable columns of light coming from behind the Manhattan skyline were connected to it. The Tribute in Light was there all along since 7:00 p.m. I just could not find it due the absence of a contrasting background. As time passed, the two columns became bolder against the dark maroon sky. I took my picture at 8:10 p.m. But I knew my camera could not capture the magnificent and captivating view I had in front of me. So I stood there, I do not know for how long, indulging myself in the spectacular view that only occurs once a year.