Rain Soaked Parking Meter Baku Evening

Cool blue twilight washes the cracked asphalt of a Baku side street, where a rusted parking meter stands broken against the curb. Rain slicks the metal casing, turning the faded orange paint into dark, peeling patches. Behind the subject, market stalls line the sidewalk with awnings pulled low against the damp air. Heat shimmer rises from the wet pavement, distorting the reflections of distant shop lights into wavering streaks of white and yellow. The meter leans slightly, its coin slot gaping open, while water drips steadily from the jagged top edge onto the gray stone. Reflections of the blue sky rest on the puddles pooling around the base.