A Reverse Reentry

Evening brought cool air across the balcony, signaling it was time to retreat inside. My leading grey bumper wheeled around toward the metal sliding door track once more. Crossing back required a gentle inward crawl. One segment at a time, each colored car followed the curving trajectory away from the cedar planks. The leading bumper crossed the aluminum sill first, rolling onto the warm indoor floorboards. Then the white roof, then the green chassis, down through each crimson and yellow car behind. In steady, rhythmic succession, all forty segments pulled cleanly indoors, resting parallel against the closed glass frame.