On the roof

I sat on the edge of the building's roof, my legs dangling in the air high above the ground. I watched below as dozens after dozens of car lights flashed past, people rushing to get to or from one thing or another. I wondered what it was that was going through their minds. Were they focusing on where they had to go? Were their minds wandering to other things, or different worlds? Were they happy, or sad, or afraid? There were a lot of questions to be asked, but there were few answers to be had. I was ok with that.

A gust of wind breezed passed, and I felt my legs sway along with it. I looked up at the night's sky to be met with another myriad of lights, but these were still, as the stars were much too far away to be seen as moving like the cars, even though they surely traveled far faster. Thousands of lightyears away they burned, or at least so I assumed, and unlike the people below, they had no thoughts. It was odd to think that something that appeared so bright, and so beautiful, was in a sense empty.

And in between them, sitting on a construct of concrete and steel, was me. I supposed that some might find some kind of meaning in that. Something symbolic. But I didn't worry much about it. There wasn't much to say about me. I found these things on either side of me, moving far faster than I, curious wonders which I could never fully understand, to be far more interesting.

I felt the wind caressing my face as I laid back, cold concrete making a rough and solid surface for me to relax on. I didn't mind it. I had fallen asleep on things much less comfortable in the past. Running my fingers over the uneven surface, I thought about the work that must have been put into creating such a large structure. How much planning had to be put into making sure that it would be a stable structure, that it would have to space needed to fulfill its purpose. How many hands had to be put in to follow those plans and make a dream a reality.

It was pretty incredible to consider how the world had come together. So many people working together, whether they even realized it or not, creating things that would change the course of history in both incredible and subtle ways. The smallest things in the world could snowball out to make more of an impact than one could ever hope to do. No one could consciously control it.

I stood up and dusted myself off before glancing back down at the cars in the streets below. It was getting late, and the number of cars passing through was quickly decreasing. It wouldn't be long before there was hardly a single one passing. This late at night, the world was a different place than it was during the day. A lot quieter, a lot more mysterious, and in some cases, a lot more dangerous.

And I wanted to see it.