THE AIR WAS heavy and clinging. It took effort to raise eyes toward the dull white glare of the morning sky and find the patches of blue there. Young people walked down Broadway with graduation robes hanging open. A cold drip fell from the sweating plastic of the iced coffee to splash on a bare shin. The light grew clearer. Putting sunscreen on the legs all but finished the old bottle that had been lasting indefinitely. Down in the subway, a man stopped and exclaimed at the light coming in from above. The shadows of leafy branches caught in the grate and doubled themselves on the wall below. The humidity ebbed, a fresh breeze started moving, and the sky went to orthodox white clouds on blue. The bus sailed along Central Park West in the afternoon brightness unimpeded. Children sword-fought with sticks. The sun filled the wings of an egret as it turned and dropped into the shallow water.
