Hour four of a drive with no announced destination

Car Back Seat at a Gas Station

Hour four of a drive whose destination was announced once, early, and never again. Warm vinyl under a beach towel, the pump numbers still turning, the radio down low and the same song coming around a third time. Someone went inside to pay and the door of the little white building has not opened since. You learned to sleep sitting up in this seat, and you learned to tell how much farther by how the road sounded, and neither of those skills was ever any use again.

Reality Is Optimal · created by Julian Cape, 2026