Sprout

One autumn evening, Sprout Sidley was loading dishes into the dishwasher at the Gardenia Café (where he both works and lives), getting ready to close. Walking down the spacious dining room corridor, he felt his phone in his pocket and checked the time: 11:23. Half past eleven at night.
Sidley sighed, putting his phone back, and took the large elevator up to his room. His shoulders were tense, his head a jumble of thoughts, all tangled together, and he simply couldn't bring himself to relax.
In the end, Sprout decided to go out onto the balcony to somehow unwind and get his thoughts back to normal... Or at least relax.
As Sidley stepped through the open door onto the spacious balcony, he saw his best friend, Cosmo, standing smoking, his elbows on the railing. His amber gaze was pensive, either staring off into the distance or up into the sky.