ROCKFORD, IL

Faded brick breathes slow decay, empty storefronts stare back, vacant lots cradle silence. Semi-abandoned mills stand like old sentinels along the Rock River, their iron bones softened by time and overcast sky. Rust Belt ghosts linger in cracked pavement and peeling paint, pierced by faint signs of quiet revival. Rewards the patient eye that waits for muted light to melt the edges of ruin and shadows to carve deeper melancholy into the hollow corners.