A Breath of Fresh Air

I eased my loop off the window clasp and hopped down, shuffling across the floorboards toward the sliding patio door that stood cracked open. Outside on the breezy balcony, a wooden planter box caught the midday light. Near the bottom slat of its trellis, a small weathered metal S-hook swung gently from a wire loop. It looked completely solid. Leaning forward with a steady tilt, I wedged my flat base against the rim of a terracotta pot and tipped upward until the hook slipped smoothly into my eyelet. Dangling quietly above the soil, I rested in the fresh breeze, watching sparrows dart past the railing.