Metropolis 2000: 4:32 A.M.

There is a time in the city, early in the morning, before it awakes. If you live in a city you know what I mean. Cities never sleep, but they do rest for a period each morning. After the bars and before the newspaper, after the last train leaves and before the first bus arrives, A time between activities. If you are about then, you can feel the city start to awake. The streets are quiet before the traffic, the sidewalks and cafes empty and restful. The air is sweet and pregnant with the possibilities of a new day.  You can sometimes watch as the first pink and orange ray of the sun touch the buildings, setting them ablaze in a way no office worker will ever appreciate. A certain type of magic seems possible. To ever really know a city, you must see it at this time, like watching a sleeping lover.  Else it's mystery, it's true face, will always be hidden from you, and it will merely be a place to live.