A middle-aged man sat under a palm tree with the afternoon sun at his back; staring straight ahead at a pleasantly colored wall. A blank canvas, a minimalist's slate. Only the rusty derelict water tower, the trunk of the palm, and himself. Three sharp-edged shadows on tangerine stucco. He stared at the motionless figures for a precious time. He saw the plummeting shadow of the coconut only briefly. His final thought; 'Sitting under a palm tree in the afternoon sun does have its risks.'