Every single day, the first thing I (try to) do when I get home is go for a nice walk. Around this time of year, the sun falls early and by 6:30pm the city is cloaked in darkness.
So, like a happy flower, I try to soak as much sunlight as I can in the short period between the end of work and sunset. I sometimes catch myself looking longingly out of my window at work, wanting to feel the light and noise of the city, but I force myself to snap out of it and return to my desk.
The window in my office occupies the entire upper two-thirds of my back wall and faces west; this means that though I am not outside, I can still feel the sun's presence all throughout the day. Sporadically throughout the day I hear angry horns of cars buzzing and hopeful bells of a church clanging.
Though my time to enjoy the outdoors is limited, I'm in no rush; I take care to change into more comfortable clothes, tie my shoes, and lock the door. Then I begin to walk.
As a walker, I am lucky in that I live in perhaps one of the greatest neighborhoods in the world: Coconut Grove. Magic is around every corner here and the yawning canopies of majestic banyans and oaks dwarf the Grove's inhabitants and provide its residents thick sheets of shadow.
I don't usually have a destination in mind on these walks, though I have recently been finding myself going to the Peacock Park outlook a lot. This outlook is a small boardwalk on the outer edge of a wall of mangroves and faces out onto the eastern sea. At sunset the sky and clouds are lit with brilliant pinks and reds, which slowly leave and get replaced by deep blues.
As the sun falls behind the sea, I am already on my way home. In January darkness quickly follows the sun and many parts of the Grove are poorly lit. While this is quaint during the day, it can be dangerous at night and so I carefully make my way back home, passing churches and old houses as I return.
Once I arrive home, it is already pitch black outside and my evening begins. I sprawl on the couch and catch my breath. Looking at my phone, it is only seven-o-clock; the night has only just begun.