An Ordinary Day

Chen Yu'an was the first to see the shadow beneath the clouds.

The shadow traveled down the mountainside, swallowing the woods and then a patch of red rooftops. Only when it reached the river did the ship’s bow slowly emerge from the clouds. The freighter was so immense it seemed to press the distant mountains lower. Several rows of tiny lights gleamed beneath its belly, and through the carriage window they looked like a string of stars no one had yet had time to gather away.

He pressed his hand to the glass, trying to measure it.