After unlocking the door, he stepped outside, shutting it quietly behind him. A cool breeze tickled his bare chest and stomach causing gooseflesh to rise on his skin. He walked over to the edge of the roof and looked out upon the city; he felt as if he had gone back in time and was somehow seeing the landscape as it had been hundreds of years in the past—before the advent of modern technology had rendered moot the dark of night.

The outlines of the city’s buildings still pressed against the sky, but the artificial fire that lit them was momentarily snuffed. The only visible light came from the glow of candles floating ethereally in apartments scattered throughout the nearby residential buildings; they looked like fireflies dancing in the night.

He stepped back and sat down against a rooftop ve...

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