New York City, January 9, 2017

★★★ The children, bundled up in the packed and stalled elevator, began shedding hats and coats mere moments after it had ground to a stop a few inches past the 29th floor, while the loudest adult was still yelling into his phone for help. It had barely gotten warmer than usual before the doors were pried open and the escapees clambered over the offset, dropping stray gear on their way to the freight elevator. A thin glaze of cloud covered the sky, and a thin glaze of salt covered the pavement. The two-day-0ld snow, light though it was, had hardened and survived. The stains on it were numerous and vari-colored, but they were still separate and individual marks, on a still-white background.