The Embrace

I was the first in line, before 6am and got the first ticket of the day. I then stepped to the small window at the side, where you are given a large bottle of cold water, free. Anything free to a tourist is amazing and not to be shunned. In doing that, the couple standing behind me in line, passed ahead of me, through the security checkpoint and through the garden that one must cross to reach the entrance portal. I also stopped to take a few shots of that arch. It was still dark. Not pitch black, but there was that dim predawn light reflected off the sky from the sun that was still below the horizon. The couple had walked ahead to the seat installed so that Shah Jehan could sit in the very best spot to see what he had brought to being. My camera was able to pull in enough light to capture the moment when this Chicago couple, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, had an intimate, exclusive experience that few people ever see, before the throngs arrive a few minutes later.