The Light in Old Pictures

I was sorting through old digital pictures, hoping to find some for a family album. My wife had taken them years ago, on a cold night in March. She was trying to get a clear shot of our new dog, Buster, playing in the living room.

In the first few photos, taken just seconds apart, nothing seemed unusual. But in the third picture, a soft, circular glow hovered near the shelf. On that shelf sat a small wooden box holding the ashes of our previous cat, Sasha.

Later that same night, another series of photos showed Buster sleeping peacefully. In the background, that same gentle light reappeared, seeming to drift from one side of the room to the other in consecutive shots. We had used that camera for years and had never seen anything like it before.

We spent the rest of the evening going through every picture we owned, looking for more signs of that quiet light. We found no others, but those few images from that one night remain a curious and comforting mystery in our family.