I love sunsets.

Tonight, the sky is painted. 

The bright oranges, purples, pinks, blending to create versions of colors I couldn’t have imagined.

A sky so pigmented that the color feels almost unnatural. 

The orange casting a hue over the world, clouding my vision like a pair of rose-tinted glasses. 

The white clouds stand out against the vibrancy of the colors, providing contrast. 

Something about a sunset makes the world seem to stand still. 

Something so captivating, making it a requirement to stop and stare.

I take a picture of the sky. 

My dad loves sunsets. 

He talks excitedly about this wonder of nature as he leaves his office tonight:

“Sunsets are incredible and bring me so much joy!

I have enjoyed the amazing colors in a sunset since I was a little boy.

The memories created in my mind and picture I have saved over time

Will remind me of the beauty of nature as the sun drops below the horizon line.

Sunsets bring a sense of peacefulness to wrap up a busy day.

A snapshot of serenity and beauty to be shared with my loved ones and Lyla J.”

He takes a picture of the sky.

Picture, after picture, after picture.

We send them back and forth. 

But the beauty we see in the sky can never truly be captured on the screen. 

A memory of a simple wonder of our world.

A naturally painted picture, something we have the gift to witness nightly. 

The next day, I look eagerly out my kitchen window as the sky begins to darken, phone in hand.

The sun shrinks lower, and lower.

But instead of the brilliant violets and pinks of yesterday, I’m met with clouds. 

“The fires in Canada are clouding the sky again,” my dad remarks solemnly, entering the room.

Again.

It’s a sad fact that again can even be attached to that sentence. 

I sigh as I turn defeatedly away from the window. 

My view ruined by the work of my own kind.

My eyes meet my dad’s as I walk towards the living room; I see a smile on his face.

Even with the clouds to block our view, I’m happy with the idea that my dad and I still share the same sky.

I envision the beauty of a sunset hiding beneath that dreary layer of gray.