Monsoon Afternoon Ballot Counting in Cumilla Chamber

Dappled sunlight falls through monsoon leaves, painting shifting patterns of green and gold across a long wooden table inside the Cumilla council chamber. Sealed plastic bins stack at the far end, their surfaces slick with moisture from the humid air. White coffee cups with dark residue rings sit beside sharpened pencils and stacks of paper ballots awaiting the count. Water droplets rest on the wooden eaves above, while the grain of the table runs parallel to the leading lines of the workspace. The light falls across the scattered papers, highlighting the graphite tips of pencils against the damp wood grain.