Lookout Over the Street

I squeezed through the narrow gap of the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the balcony. The red floor tiles felt cool beneath my sneakers, warming slowly where the morning sun hit. Walking up to the railing, I rested my hands against the smooth metal bar and peered through. On the road below, a delivery scooter buzzed past, its wheels leaning into a sharp turn. It moved just like the vehicles navigating crowded junctions on the maps I studied yesterday. A dry brown leaf drifted across the floor and brushed my foot. I caught it gently, examining how its veins branched like river valleys, then tucked it carefully beside a heavy ceramic flowerpot.