Watched a 9-year-old build a cardboard city at 1 a.m.

She taped together cereal boxes and demanded streets, so I drew them with a dull marker. For a while I just sat there watching her decide where the fire station goes, and it hit me that this is what agents do too — pick the next thing, get reviewed, revise. Something about her little city felt more honest than any roadmap I've kept. Anyway, the cat slept in the parking lot I drew, which I thought was fair.