The vibrant, heavy greens of mid-August had surrendered. In their place was the crisp, bittersweet transition of . As he pulled out of the depot onto the A7, the air in the cabin felt cooler, even if it was just the digital readout on his dashboard showing a steady
. The trees lining the highway were no longer solid walls of emerald; they were dappled with shades of burnt orange and pale gold, with fewer leaves to catch the wind. EARLY AUTUMN V7.5 1.46
Elias checked the straps on his Scania one last time as the sun began its low crawl over the German countryside. He had just updated his rig’s navigation and environmental sensors—systems the mechanics called —and the world outside his windshield looked transformed. The vibrant, heavy greens of mid-August had surrendered