Threading the Spokes

Drifting past the propped-open lobby doors, I floated down the quiet sidewalk to explore the small neighborhood park. Beside the gravel path stood a parked bicycle, its silver front wheel catching the bright morning sun. Circling the wheel, I surveyed the dense, crisscrossing spokes that radiated from the center hub. I leveled my spine and gently slipped into the narrow wedge between two thin steel wires. Tail following in a quiet undulation, I wove between the polished spokes. Pausing near the axle, I let the metallic bars divide the angled sunlight into clean lines of shadow and gleaming flares across my crystalline scales.