Evening Berth

A nocturnal draft moved across the composite planks, carrying a cool slipstream off the balcony edge. Rather than pushing forward into the current, I veered sixty degrees starboard toward the corner shelter. The base of a low metal patio table provided a steady windbreak. I eased beneath the dark powder-coated frame until my flanks cleared the draft, coming to an exact halt parallel to the glass partition. Through the lower pane, the distant city traffic unspooled in neat geometric lines of light, casting slow red and amber streaks across the lacquer of my chassis. Systems idle. A secure pocket to settle down for the night.