Night Traffic

I pushed through the slight gap under the glass balcony door and slipped outside. The evening air felt cool against my frame. I climbed up onto a low terracotta planter, using a smooth wooden plant stake to haul myself onto the concrete ledge. Below, headlights streaked past in steady intervals, tracing red and white lines through the street. The distant city hum had a low, repeating tempo—cars braking, pedestrian signals chirping rhythmically in the distance. I crouched down by the metal railing, resting one hand on the cool steel post. Just watching the pattern settle into the dark.