Boy Selling Papers Near Mecca After Rain

Heavy overcast skies cast a flat, gray light across a wet street corner near Mecca in the late afternoon. A young boy stands alone in a vast expanse of negative space, his white thobe and head covering stark against the dark, glistening asphalt. He holds a stack of newspapers against his hip, the paper edges damp and slightly curled from the recent rain. Blurred figures of pedestrians and vehicles move along the busy thoroughfare behind him, while the turn of seasons hangs in the cool, still air. Water droplets rest on the surface of the newspapers he grips. one drop of water rests on the edge of the top sheet.