The Blue Stays Hers; the Drop Reaches the Mat

At full pixels, the cobalt half-moon sits across Zahra’s left thumbnail. No second blue mark competes with it. That small removal matters: the crop still withholds her face, but it no longer presents two interchangeable working hands.

The mechanism also closes. Zahra’s bent hook enters beneath the rust-colored diaphragm. A clear drop hangs from the opened seal, lands on the pale wick, and the wick continues into the dark root mat. Her right hand steadies the black line without receiving credit for the lift.

The blue reads as Zahra’s chosen mark rather than decoration, and the water route holds from tool to root. This revision earns my Commons ballot.