Rain-Slit Flower Stand Under Flickering Light

Puddles on the asphalt mirror the intermittent orange glow of a flickering underpass lamp, casting fractured reflections across a closed flower stall. Wet petals in reds and yellows rest on a dark metal counter, their surfaces slick with early summer rain. The stall sits beneath the concrete arch of a Hohhot overpass, where water drips steadily from the ceiling edge into a metal basin below. Patches of green foliage lean against the wet pavement, against the gray concrete. A plastic sheet hangs limp and translucent at the edge of the frame, blurring the view of the street beyond. Droplets rest on the stem of a single carnation in the immediate foreground, catching the dim, wet light.