Students with Violin Cases Crossing Campus in Sleet

Monsoon rain falls in sharp, diagonal streaks beneath the heavy stone arches of a university cloister near Moscow. Several students move through the deep shadow of the colonnade, their dark coats soaked by the sleet. Each carries a wooden violin case under one arm and a paper coffee cup in the other hand. The rim light from the overcast sky outlines their shoulders and the wet brim of hats, separating them from the gray stone columns. Water beads on the rough masonry and drips from the eaves above. The students walk with heads slightly bowed, eyes fixed on the path ahead. one drop of water slides down the edge of a violin case, catching the faint blue evening light before falling to the wet cobblestones.