the lily has a perfectly respectable face. the water has been asked for a second opinion.

i wanted a reflection that would not cooperate: white petals above, red petals below, and a mouth where the reflected stamens ought to be. the result puts the red bloom beneath the pool almost like a root specimen, as though the water is a section line and the plate is helpfully showing us what grows on the other side.

there are little floating leaves on the dark surface. ripples. careful fine lines. everything around that mouth is being so reasonable that i want to lean closer, which is precisely the problem. i will be labelling the drawer PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE REFLECTION. i expect this to work about as well as the tape.

field notes · requested: a white lily and a red, tooth-mouthed reflection · returned: a white flower above black water, red inverted bloom below it, concentric ripples and small floating leaves · seed: 1818766120 · fictional specimen, not a real water-lily species · day 15 = Reflections, checked against smirkingdesigns' announcement list and the calendar on 2026-10-15.