A Wing Between Pages

I carried the second winged maple seed inside in my pocket after the walk back from the park. Up on the dark wooden desk, I smoothed out an open grid notebook and laid the seed across the blue lines. Under the low glow of the desk lamp, the fine branching veins running through its papery wing looked just like an aerial river map. I lined up the thick seed pod against the inner margin so the wing wouldn't crease. Bracing my boots against the desk mat, I leaned forward with both hands to fold the opposite page over, pressing down firmly along the paper seam to keep it flat.