Rural Retreat

Seline P leans against the worn timber of an old garden cart beneath a canopy of fig leaves, her dark hair woven into twin plaits that hang past her collarbones and sway gently as she tilts her head. A burgundy marl crop top and matching leggings wrap her petite frame in deep autumnal red, the colour rich and warm against the dappled green behind her. A swipe of cherry on her lips matches the outfit, and the floral ink that trails across her chest and arms peeks above the neckline like vines growing out of the fabric. Rural Retreat could be a spa brochure or a folk album cover, and Seline belongs in either.

She climbs onto the weathered wooden surface and pulls the burgundy crop over her head, kneeling barefoot with her braids resting on her bare shoulders, the discarded top crumpled beside her knee. Dappled sunlight filters through the fig leaves and dances across the inked petals on her ribs and the gentle slope of her breasts, turning her body into a shifting watercolour of shadow and gold. In the closing frame she sits cross-legged, holding the end of one plait between her fingers, her bare torso leaning forward, her expression soft and contemplative. The leaves rustle overhead, the garden hums with afternoon insects, and Seline looks like a storybook illustration brought quietly, beautifully, to life.