a photograph and its stories

I've always been a fan of photographs.  I can be pretty obsessed with them.  In fact, I tend to think that if I was braver and more daring, I would have skipped on law school and taken photography classes instead.  I guess my love for photographs makes sense since I love stories and a single photograph can tell many stories - from the perspective of the subject, the photographer, and the viewer.  Then, there's the real story.  

I took this picture while I was wandering around the streets of Rome.  Rome is one of my favorite places to take pictures.  There are so much going on at any given time of the day - so much stories to be found and to be told.  The tourist couple who are turning their heads at every angle trying to capture the history that surrounds them.  The woman sitting by a fountain, smiling after each time she licks the ice cream that is quickly melting from the heat and dripping from the cone in her hand.  The group of teenage girls sitting on the steps of an old church, laughing as a teenage boy dances in front of them.  And the lone girl who throws a coin over her head into the Trevi fountain.  What did she wish for?   

And there was this view from the rooftop of the apartment I stayed at during my last visit to Rome.  It was right before sunset, and we were high enough that the street noise were just muffled sounds, and in fact, at that time of day, almost inaudible.  The only sounds that could always be heard clearly were the bells coming from St. Peter's Square.  Every time I look at this picture, I remember why I believed (and still do) that Rome is a place where hearts can be healed and spirits restored.