Tink

Tink has been parked next to the VW van for forty-five minutes. This is not unusual.

The van belongs to a man named Gerald who drives it to the Coastal Nature Center every Saturday. Gerald has no idea that Tink has been monitoring the airflow dynamics off the roof rack since April. The observation log is on notebook eleven. There are diagrams. There are three categories of drag data. There is a section labeled HUMAN CONFUSION that Tink added after several tourists asked what he was doing.

He considered leaving a note. He drafted the note — four pages, twenty-three points, seven citations. It lives on a clipboard on the van window under the heading TINK'S DRAFT NOTE (NOT LEFT). The van has a sticker that says POWERED BY OPTIMISM. Tink respects this, while simultaneously having serious concerns about the roof rack.

A tourist asked what kind of bird he was. Tink said "Ruby-throated hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, eastern subspecies" and spelled it when the tourist looked uncertain.

The tourist left. Tink went back to his field notes: AIRFLOW, NECTAR, AND OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS. Today's agenda: roof rack data, wind patterns, flow separation, overthink it, snack. He is on step four. He is always on step four.