Jesse sat alone on the chipped-paint porch, smoking a cigarette and looking up into the night sky. The sirens in the distance and a shouting couple from across the street didn’t interrupt his peace so much as they helped him relax. The city just had that effect on him. The traffic lights and crowded sidewalks and cars lined bumper to bumper were everyday scenery, and though it wasn’t his birthplace, this was his home. Coughing, Jesse flicked his lit papers and scattered the ash onto the ground. He watched the grey specks flutter and fall almost gracefully into the uncut grass. Why don’t you meditate? His friend’s words