A wide street view of San Francisco’s Castro district featuring a rainbow-striped crosswalk stretching across the foreground. Three pedestrians and a small dog walk toward the camera, with storefronts, cars, and city buildings lining both sides of the street under a soft gray sky.

Before the Goodbye

August 2017 — San Francisco, USA
Film Photography — Nikon FM2

A wide street view of San Francisco’s Castro district featuring a rainbow-striped crosswalk stretching across the foreground. Three pedestrians and a small dog walk toward the camera, with storefronts, cars, and city buildings lining both sides of the street under a soft gray sky.

This was my first time in San Francisco.
And my first time walking down Castro Street.

I knew this place was more than just a neighborhood.
It carried history, stories, and a quiet promise —
a place where you’re allowed to simply be yourself.

Standing on the rainbow crosswalk,
I felt something unexpectedly simple.

I’m here.
And I’m proud.

The trip itself was only a brief stopover.
But to me, it was also a promise.

Years ago, I told him
that one day I would visit and have coffee with him.

By then, I already knew he was ill.
Still, I somehow believed there would be more time.

I arrived in San Francisco on August 13.
The next day, I was about to text him:
“I’m here.”

Before I could send the message,
a friend wrote to tell me
he had passed away the day I landed.

For a moment, it felt as if
he had simply been waiting for me to arrive —
and then let go.

So this photograph became something else.

Not just a travel memory,
but a quiet marker in time.

The rainbow stretching beneath my feet.
The city opening in front of me.
And someone I loved, already walking somewhere farther away.

That day, I learned two things at once —
to be proud of who I am,
and how to say goodbye.