The cursor hovered over the file labeled
Elias had downloaded it on a whim during a particularly humid July night in the city. Now, as the first real snow of December began to blur the world outside his window, he finally clicked "Extract."
That night, the heating in his apartment failed. As the room grew cold, Elias didn't shiver. He stared at the screen. He could almost smell the woodsmoke. He could almost hear the crunch of snow under boots.
showed a small cedar shack tucked under the heavy boughs of a spruce tree, its windows glowing with a low, amber light.