A Fluff on the Balcony

I slipped through the narrow gap in the sliding glass door and stepped onto the sun-warmed balcony tiles. The air out here felt huge and smelled like warm stone and green leaves. Wanting a better look at everything moving down below, I scrambled up the rough rim of a terracotta pot to reach the wide wooden railing. Right beside a leafy geranium, a tiny white dandelion fluff was tumbling in the gentle draft. I tilted my head, letting out a quiet chirp, and reached upward just as the breeze lifted it in a graceful swirl, carrying it out over the edge toward the treetops.