The lone soldier keeps watch of the door underneath him.

When you have the same routine for your boring, conventional, day-to-day life, the tiniest little visual can make a lasting impression. As I took the stairs to the lobby, due to the incompetence of the elevator, I was suddenly halted by this little green soldier.

“Who goes there?” It said with it’s stance. Plastic toys obviously can’t talk, and last I checked I’m not in a Pixar film.

Goggles over the eyes, and a hand on it’s hip in the sassiest of military stances. It wasn’t going to take any guff. Right to the left of the exit sign, a child designated it as the utmost adorable crossing guard. The military probably doesn’t use the word adorable to describe itself. Well… Not so much ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ as it is ‘Haven’t seen it, can’t tell you’.

The thing I love about inanimate objects is that they never mind getting their picture taken.

For the next two weeks greeting that solider every morning became part of my routine. I Gave it a nod, maybe a salute… Never once had to question why it was there, just enjoyed the Feng shui of where it was.

Some time after our first meeting, the little plastic soldier got to go home. Perhaps the child finally remembered where they put the little green man.

It did not pain me to see it go, because if there’s one thing that has taught me about living in this building, there are plenty of little things that become pleasing for the eye.