Predawn Parcel Table with Frozen Lightning Strike

Warm candlelight pools across a worn metal handoff table cluttered with plastic tabs, paper labels, and a clipboard resting near the edge. The industrial sorting belt stretches backward into the predawn darkness, its polished surfaces catching tiny, sharp highlights from the flame. Outside the warehouse bay, a bolt of lightning freezes mid-strike, branching in jagged white lines against the black sky. Early autumn shadows lengthen across the concrete floor, where stacks of cardboard boxes wait in orderly rows. The metal edges of the table reflect the sudden electric blue of the frozen storm, against the soft orange glow of the candles. One plastic tab lies loose on the grime-covered surface, catching the light.