dobré ráno

I was up shortly after 5 AM, showering in the deserted bathroom and rushing to the lift while the most of the dorm still slept and the sky was yet black.  My boots tread with light claps through the long corridor, and I nearly whispered my “dobré ráno” to reception before gaining exit through the automatic front door.  5:54 had me waiting at the tram stop, appreciating my newly purchased coat, and realizing that the tram I thought left at 5:55 actually left at 5:52 so I would have to take a tram at 5:56 and then transfer.

In the city center, I exited the tram to a sky that had turned navy blue and boasted a waning moon. The only glowing shops were bakeries; en route to the conservatory, I did an about face and went to a bakery with a good reputation.  It was more golden than usual due to the pastries having been freshly baked and hardly waiting.  After (finally) making a selection, I returned to the breath-revealing air and was inside the school by 6:30.  It had has a marvelous whispery quality about it.  The office was completely dark and the registers were warm.

It felt like a sacred space.  At first I was hesitant to make any sounds or turn on any office lights.  I stood in my wool coat near the register and watched the city begin to yawn and stretch.  Then I became self-conscious in my meditative state.  I was eager to exit it of my own volition rather than be discovered in such reverie.  Voices clattered in the corridor and I snapped on the light, thus breaking entry into my morning of English conversation, a dysfunctional cell phone, and an intimate office swirling with six teachers.