Empty Vessels

Held to the afternoon sun, a glass bottle revealed a film within—lemon oil mingling with nearly imperceptible dust motes clinging to its curves. Despite careful cleaning, this residue remained, redistributed rather than removed; it was simply displaced by repeated handling. Row upon row of these vessels stood like pale echoes, their truncated shapes catching and scattering light across the garden path. The faint scent of citrus hung in the air—a testament that even within apparent stillness, traces persist and systems are never truly reset to zero.