diff --git a/src/brainy.ts b/src/brainy.ts
index dad609b3..66317322 100644
--- a/src/brainy.ts
+++ b/src/brainy.ts
@@ -1163,6 +1163,23 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       )
     }, OPEN_HEARTBEAT_MS)
     if (typeof openHeartbeat.unref === 'function') openHeartbeat.unref()
+    /**
+     * Narrate one STEP inside a phase when it turns out to be expensive.
+     * A phase that costs a minute and names only itself tells an operator
+     * where to look but not what to look at; this names the step. Silent
+     * under OPEN_PHASE_NARRATE_MS, so a fast open says nothing extra.
+     */
+    const step = async <T>(name: string, cause: string, run: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> => {
+      const startedAt = Date.now()
+      try {
+        return await run()
+      } finally {
+        const elapsed = Date.now() - startedAt
+        if (elapsed >= OPEN_PHASE_NARRATE_MS) {
+          prodLog.narrate(`[Brainy] open: step "${name}" took ${elapsed}ms — ${cause}`)
+        }
+      }
+    }
     const markPhase = (name: string): void => {
       const now = Date.now()
       const elapsed = now - lastPhaseCheckpoint
@@ -1263,9 +1280,12 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // instances skip recovery (readers never write; the next writer
       // repairs).
       this.generationStore = new GenerationStore(this.storage)
-      const generationOpenResult = await this.generationStore.open({
-        readOnly: this.config.mode === 'reader'
-      })
+      const generationOpenResult = await step(
+        'generation-store.open',
+        'reading the generation manifest and committed ranges, opening the fact log and the ' +
+          'packed segment tier, and folding any crash-recovery replay',
+        () => this.generationStore.open({ readOnly: this.config.mode === 'reader' })
+      )
 
       // The generation fact log is CANONICAL state, not a derived index — no
       // sweeper, GC, or blob-lifecycle path may ever delete under it. Declare
@@ -1303,7 +1323,11 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // rollup invariants against the log head + live counters. Loud on
       // genuine incoherence (repairIndex heals), silent on absent/coherent,
       // benign-behind refreshes at the next flush. Never blocks open.
-      await this.verifyEntityTreeStamp()
+      await step(
+        'verify-entity-tree-stamp',
+        'comparing the entity tree\'s stamped generation and rollups against the store',
+        () => this.verifyEntityTreeStamp()
+      )
 
       // 8.0 ⇄ native-provider version handshake: load the on-disk brain-format
       // marker (`_system/brain-format.json`) into an in-memory field NOW —
@@ -1315,7 +1339,11 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // them from the canonical records and then re-stamps the marker AFTER the
       // rebuild verifies (non-destructive: a crash mid-rebuild leaves the old /
       // absent marker, so the next open idempotently re-rebuilds).
-      this._brainFormat = await readBrainFormat(this.storage)
+      this._brainFormat = await step(
+        'read-brain-format',
+        'reading the on-disk format marker that decides whether the derived indexes are stale',
+        () => readBrainFormat(this.storage)
+      )
       this._indexEpochStale =
         this._brainFormat === null || this._brainFormat.indexEpoch !== EXPECTED_INDEX_EPOCH
 
@@ -1326,7 +1354,11 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // upgrade verifies + stamps; retained on failure. No-op for a reader, for
       // non-filesystem storage, or for a brain with no persisted data.
       if (this._indexEpochStale && this.config.migrationBackup && !this.isReadOnly) {
-        await this.createMigrationBackupIfNeeded()
+        await step(
+          'pre-upgrade-backup',
+          'snapshotting the brain directory before a one-time format rebuild (migrationBackup)',
+          () => this.createMigrationBackupIfNeeded()
+        )
       }
 
       // PHASE 2 of 5 — "generation-store open+fold": GenerationStore
@@ -1606,7 +1638,11 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // init() returns — there is no more first-query lazy path, so the flag
       // below (kept for getIndexStatus() API compatibility) simply flips true
       // once this open-time step has run.
-      await this.rebuildIndexesIfNeeded()
+      await step(
+        'rebuild-indexes-if-needed',
+        'the derived-index gate: each family\'s readiness verdict, and any build it asks for',
+        () => this.rebuildIndexesIfNeeded()
+      )
       this.lazyRebuildCompleted = true
 
       // Check for pending data migrations
@@ -1679,7 +1715,11 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // Initialize VFS: Ensure VFS is ready when accessed as property
       // This eliminates need for separate vfs.init() calls - zero additional complexity
       this._vfs = new VirtualFileSystem(this)
-      await this._vfs.init()
+      await step(
+        'vfs.init',
+        'creating or adopting the VFS root and wiring the path resolver',
+        () => this._vfs!.init()
+      )
       this._vfsInitialized = true  // Mark VFS as fully initialized
 
       // 8.0 MVCC: infrastructure bootstrap (VFS root, etc.) is now the