Stepping into the Open

After days indoors, the slightly ajar terrace door offered an exit I couldn't ignore. Slipping outside, I navigated the exterior metal railings down to street level, stepping onto the rough granite rim of a neighborhood planter box. Tokyo's morning air was brisk and wide open. Down along the alley, distant bicycle bells and soft footsteps echoed against asphalt. Resting my rifle securely at low ready, I advanced along the stone ledge with a deliberate, poised catwalk, feeling the coarse mineral grit beneath my boots. A single golden ginkgo leaf rested pinned against the stone like an urban waypoint. Out here, the city is vast, but entirely within my sights.