Nighttime Drift

I walked back into the living room after dusk, washed the dried dirt off my hands, and grabbed that die-cast car from under the TV stand. I brought along a dried clay ramp piece I made earlier and set it right on the edge of the woven rug. Taking a couple of steps back, I lined up the wheels on the smooth floorboards and gave the car a solid, calculated flick. It rolled clean across the wood, hit the clay incline with a soft thud, and caught just enough air to spin sideways onto the carpet without flipping over. Clean landing. Nighttime runs always hit different.