Learn English – Word/phrase to fill the blank: “I could see the vague reflection on the misty window ______ the surroundings.”

single-word-requestsword-choice

I'm writing a short story, and here's where I'm stuck over word-choice:

I peered through the window with the slick navy blue curtains, swinging to and fro to the movement of the minibus, blocking my view to some extent. I could see my vague reflection on the misty window ______ my surroundings.

You're on a minibus. It's raining—just a light shower. You look at and through the window pane which is made of glass. Of course, you see your surroundings. But you also see a vague reflection of yourself, as well as the real outside through the glass window.

         trees, roads               ||||       you, your cat, the seats of the bus 
  (outside bus - surrounding)     (window)         (inside bus - reflection)

enter image description here

Your reflection's on the top of or over the picture of your surroundings. I want to describe exactly how it's on top of that.

It's floating over the picture of your surroundings? It's lightly pasted on that picture? It's acting like a two-way mirror?

What do you think should fill the blank?


EDIT: I want to convey the lightness or vagueness of the reflections over the surroundings. It's not another layer over your surroundings. Rather it just blends with it, very nicely and very subtly. You don't even notice it if you don't look hard enough.

The shorter the word/phrase, the better—since if too long a word goes before "…my surroundings" it gets hard to understand that your "surroundings" is something that you see on the window, along with your reflection. The "my surroundings" part gets further away from the main clause "I could see my […]".

So far at one with and watermarking get the closest to what I had in mind.

Best Answer

It is a perfect blending of images, excellent. I can well imagine myself sitting in the mini bus and conceptualize the scene.

watermark

transitive verb

1: to mark (paper) with a watermark
2: to impress (a given design) as a watermark

for English Language Learners
: a design or symbol (such as the maker's name) that is made in a piece of paper and that can be seen when the paper is held up to the light

for Students
2 : a mark made in paper during manufacture that is visible when the paper is held up to the light

Fill in the blank with the word watermarking if it appeals to your fancy.


As an alternative, you may try the phrase "in a montage with", or only the participle form "montaging".

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