Two arrivals met at one station rail:
Spencer found the firm, wide trail.
Brandon and Aralynn came from the side;
Their narrower turn shortened Brandon’s stride.

At Willow Root Gallery, no one pushed on.
They watched what changed when the first try was gone.
The reversible window showed a leaf-card green;
Turned the other way, its jagged edge was seen.

One leaf-card, held to the light—
Spencer pointed left; no word took flight.
Brandon pointed right; Aralynn pointed too.
Three silent fingers made the choice they would use.

They added a loop frame, smooth and round:
Leaf within loop cast a wing on the ground.
Spencer pointed pause; Brandon pointed back.
Aralynn traced the wider returning track.

Leaf-card, loop frame—two clues now.
The straight way narrowed beside a low bough.
They turned before remembered Cobb Orchard Press;
Trying harder would not make the route fit best.

Back near Butterfly Station, the third piece came:
A slotted vane fitted over the frame.
Leaf-card, loop frame, vane with three slots—
Three separate objects, one shadow in spots.

Aralynn tipped the vane a finger-width.
Brandon steadied the loop beneath it.
Spencer held the leaf-card toward the dusk;
A wing-shadow wiggled across the husked path.

One slot stayed empty. They left it that way.
No guessed piece finished the work that day.
Spencer pointed later; Brandon touched the frame.
Aralynn closed the window to keep it safe.

The shadow still moved when the vane turned slow;
Its missing small mark had room to show.
Not finished, not failed, not forced to be done—
Three pieces kept a place for another sun.