She found the balcony by accident.
She'd been looking for the bathroom the one Margaret had pointed out earlier and taken a wrong turn down a corridor that opened unexpectedly onto a narrow terrace overlooking the city.
She almost went back.
Then she stepped out instead.
The air was cooler out here. Cleaner. The noise of the gala reached her as something distant and manageable music and conversation filtered through glass and distance until it became almost pleasant. Like rain heard from inside.
She stood at the railing and looked at the city.
She loved it like this. From above, at night, when it stopped being the place where her rent was overdue and her daughter needed new school shoes and became something larger. Something that had nothing to do with her specifically. Just light
