I was already in the middle of the journey to a badminton court in Sulaymaniyah at around 12:00 PM on a drizzly Saturday when messages started popping up on the watch. My focus was on road safety because of rerouting from several flooded areas, but I was able to spot clues about the queuing‘s cancellation gleaning from the short texts I couldn’t help but see. I was then forced to take a break and read the thread in the group chat. I learned that the queuing at 1:00-5:00 PM that day was moved to 6:00-10:00 PM and the venue was changed from Elite’s into Indian International School in Rawdah.
I was advised to go home but didn’t because I wouldn’t be able to resist the warm and lulling hugs of the pillows and Netflix. I decided to just dance with the clock while waiting for its hands to form the perfect vertical line, before heading to Rawdah.
The wheels led me to Al Ghadeer on a whim. I was bound to do sunset photography, of course, but I didn’t know why…there…until I noticed the towering skyscrapers at King Abdullah Financial District mirrored in one of the puddles in front of where I parked. It only made sense to me that the Cosmos must’ve dragged the wandering feet & mind to that place when the optical organs couldn’t stop marveling at the new kind of nature’s spectacle unfolding in front of me.
On a side note, the ongoing rainy days of winter have triggered flash floods and wreaked havoc across the region since the first week of December. The news on TV and the ones I got to check on FB feed made me unappreciative of the rains in the past few days. However, I must say at that moment, I did.
Looking at the variety of reflections that were accentuated by the already descended sun’s wonderful colors in those placid mirrors transported me to a different dimension.
Briefly, the parallel universe did look physically real to my adult self while the kid in me got inundated with magic of so many forms.
After that riveting point, I kept shooting at different angles but only came up with these three photos.
Doing this kind of photography isn’t really something I’m passionate about...yet. But looking at the products of that juncture, I think it’d be a worthy addition to my mojo fuels.
There’s something incredibly captivating about viewing the elements of a place through upside down reflections, especially when done randomly or when taken on an utterly neglected corners like this, I think.
About the rain, I guess it’s not all about losses or gloom after all 🙂
Epilogue
I stayed for like 20 minutes more marveling at the now new wonder to me that are puddles. My heart was pinched by the fact that during that entire period, I didn’t catch even just one of the many people passing by got enamored (let alone showed an iota of curiosity or interest in) of the pulchritude that the puddles were showing off.
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8 Great Tips and Tricks for Taking Awesome Puddle Photos (contrastly.com)
STORIES OF THE WANDERING FEET & MIND 
These are stunning sunset shots, and the puddles and reflections give it a complete different dimension – such mirror-like reflection. In a way the world is a mirror – how we feel and how we act, the universe and cosmos mirrors that back to us in some form. Interesting to read that this kind of photography is something you aren’t all that passionate about. From your photos, you do a marvelous. I love this kind of photography not for the beautiful sunset and colours but also the unpredictability and the experience itself where as a photographer, seeing these sights you think of something much bigger out there.
Hope you are doing well, Sony. Hope you also got some rest and relaxing time after this. Take care and stay safe 🙂
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Hello to you dear friend. Starting the year on this platform by replying to you is an achievement. There is no better way to do that than attending to the only comment this blog received in the last quarter of 2022.
I dropped by your blog for a little chat earlier. You gave me a lot of things to think about…
Anyway, your compliments, as the Mabel Kwong and the very you, never go out of relevance. I could not thank you more those and for being there with me in the blogosphere. Wait, is that word even applicable? Let me know if there is already a new word for it 🙂
Cheers to more content in 2023, and relevance 🙂
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