New York City, January 8, 2018

★★ The sun flashed orange on eastern windows, then flooded apartments with golden light, then faded and died away under a dingy sheet of cloud. The snow was lumpy and begrimed, and the stabbing cold had dulled and dampened into something that sank in slowly and stayed sunk in. Something came from the clouds and left the pavement wet. A lump of slush fell from the bank building and splatted on the sidewalk.