A Step Into the Sun

I followed the cool draft past the ground-floor hallway until the heavy glass lobby door parted slightly, opening out onto the front stone steps. Down on the bottom step, warm midday light had gathered around an empty terra-cotta flowerpot left tilted against the brick balustrade. Inside its shaded hollow, three fallen pinecones had rolled together in a untidy heap. I took slow, steady steps down each wide riser, holding the stone wall for balance. Reaching the bottom, I sat down patiently on the warm flagstone and nudged the prickly cones with both paws, arranging them in a tidy, upright row inside the rim where the wind could not reach.