New York City, May 8, 2016

★★★★ Sunlight — sunlight! — flashed in a puddle by the curb. The clouds to the north were plentiful but separate, spaced out on the blue. Over the shoulder, in the south, terrible dark grays were boiling. The direct light came in moments and patches, fleeing ahead on the sidewalk. A few bags of groceries later, though, the balance had fully tilted, the north gone fully clear and the south broken into blue and white. Already the children were taking the return of the brightness for granted, willing to gamble on missing the opportunity. Words were exchanged. Later, in the golden hour, the younger one would revive his old complaints about the sun being too strong. Orange blazed inside the superstructure of the apartment slab across the way. The clouds went pink and then purple, and a beautiful thin crescent moon descended.