Winter without watchers

Snow fell on the city tonight. For the first time since I can remember, no watchers stalked the streets. No metallic footsteps echoing in alleys. Just silence, clean and cold.

People walked freely. Children played. It almost felt normal.

I stood there for an hour, waiting for the familiar hum of drones. Nothing came. The air was sharp with winter, not with fear.

It should have felt like victory. Instead, it felt like memory—like I was watching a world I’d forgotten how to belong to.

I don’t know if this peace will hold. But tonight, at least, the snow was ours.