Marcus smiled. For the first time in eleven years, he didn’t check the data.

Marcus had spent eleven years refining the algorithm. His job, put simply, was to answer questions with data. When a government agency or a logistics company asked, “How many shipping days will be lost to snow in the Midwest?” or “What is the optimal planting window for Iowa?”—Marcus fed the numbers into his model and produced a probability.

Marcus took the drawing. He taped it above his desk.

She looked at him. “That’s twelve. At least.”

At least thirteen. But ask again in April.

He wrote until 2 a.m., not defining seasons by equinoxes or temperatures, but by felt transitions . The week in April when the air smells like dirt and promise. The three days in October when the wind shifts from south to north and you can hear your own breath. The stretch of February when everyone’s temper shortens because the gray has lasted too long.

That night, he didn’t look at his phone. He sat by the window and watched the dark arrive—not all at once, but in stages. First the purple. Then the deep blue. Then the black that wasn’t really black, but a thick, star-scratched velvet.