smart

leave the house and walk up the alley towards the police station
it is dark and chilly, there are policemen arriving for work, on their early shift, start at six they do.
Young men with short haircuts, all smart and aggressive in their new black uniforms.
Walk down the street, the third market place in Landshut. The place reserved for Christmas markets.
There is the small black car, get in, start the engine. Listen to the diesel start to work, grumbling, noisy.
The windows are occluded, they are covered in ice and condensation..

The tiny vehicle bounces over the cobbles, then off into the tunnel.
this is all technological, the car moves.
But it is strange, it is one of the smallest cars on the road.

There is a warning light on the dashboard, and remember the instructions, it is written there that the engine should be turned off and restarted to make that light go away.
So stop the engine at the traffic lights upon leaving the tunnel.
And it refuses to start again.
Panic, just a little bit, fiddle with the controls, left the gear in maybe, maybe that will block the engine. Take the gear out, turn the lights off.
Try again.
The car starts this time.
The embarassment of being stuck in the middle of the growing early morning traffic with a car that will not move has passed.

Take the small car to work, drifting slowly down the motorways.
Perhaps using the train would be better after all.