Silhouetted Hands Planting Tea Seedlings Before Dawn

Pale gray starlight washes over the edge of a tea plantation in British Columbia, leaving the soil dark and damp under late autumn winds. Two hands appear as sharp black silhouettes against the faint ground glow, fingers pressing seedlings into the earth. The wind whips loose strands of hair and bends the young green shoots sideways. Wet soil rests on the skin, and shallow rows stretch into the misty background where the dark shapes of mature tea bushes stand motionless. The hands move with practiced rhythm, burying the roots deep into the cool, heavy dirt. One clump of mud sticks to the thumb as the fingers withdraw from the trench.