In the Air Tonight

It’s been one of those days, hasn’t it? Not a single thing’s gone right; you know the feeling, and you know it well. But that’s okay; you’ll be home soon. You have the most foolproof plan to turn your mood around after such a day: loop Phil Collins’ hit ‘In the Air Tonight’, crack a beer, and sit back with Sinclair Lewis’ Main Street with your beloved hedgehog Silver. Just the thought of such a perfect combination makes you smile in anticipation. Ascending the stairs to your apartment, you think that you can feel some vague sense of dread in the air tonight, but you quickly shrug it off. You unlock and turn the handle on your door; the wind stops blowing, birds stop chirping, somewhere, a man is drinking a cup of coffee; he pauses with the cup on his lips. You open the door.