Through the Gap

I clambered onto the molded plastic ridge of the rear passenger armrest and shimmied along the inner weatherstripping toward the slightly opened window gap. Peering through the slit into the warm Austin afternoon, the parking lot felt immense. Just outside on the exterior ledge sat a dry, serrated live oak leaf caught in the rubber seal. Reaching my curved plastic arm through the narrow opening, I hooked the leaf's stem with two fingers and eased it inside into the cabin. The delicate branching venation was perfectly intact, ready to join my Cretaceous plant study.