Watching the world wake up

I'm sitting here at my little metal café table in my flat, looking out my window. It's 7:37 and I have been sitting here sipping tea for about an hour just watching the world wake up and unfold. I had forgotten how peaceful the early morning is. It's been so long since I saw one. It's a time of day I have always loved, even if it is one I am rarely awake for. I have always enjoyed the slow metamorphosis that unfolds. 

It starts as the dead of night, quiet. All of the revelry has been sedated, all of the shop lights are off and the clubs are closed. The streets are completely empty. The only movement is the occasional flicker of the yellow street lights. The first signs of morning are dually the faint glow on the horizon signalling the slow advance of the sun and the sluggish movements of the first delivery trucks doing their pre-dawn rounds. The slow meander of the trucks seems to made even slower in the pre-dawn haze, as if the light itself is viscous and the minimal traffic has to push through it, as if through the ether. 

The first taxi's signal the start of the human activity. One taxi, maybe two go by, still sedately. There aren't any people on the roads yet, so there are no shouts, no aggressive competition. With no other cars to avoid or out manoeuvre even the taxi's seem peaceful. The few passengers that disembark move quickly out of sight, into their stores to set things up for the coming days.

It's at this point where the light is becoming strong enough to over power the street lights, but they will stay on for another few minutes. This leaves an image of a world on the cusp of transition. The lights appear as the last guardians of the peace of night from the impending chaos of the day. 

I can see the first cars now, proper cars, private vehicles. The side walks are still empty though, save for the occasional ex-taxi passenger. It's going to be a cloudy day, the clouds have blocked the glare of the sunrise leaving the landscape tinged with a blue-grey hue. I think it'll be a calm day. The city seems to have absorbed the weather, settling into its rhythm. But it will slowly speed up, just like the clouds will slowly burn off.

I hear my alarm clock go off, it is time for me to wake up. It is time for the day to begin.