by Jenny Swift Copyright ©2026 The sweltering heat of late August hung heavy over the city. The university avenues, usually bustling, lay mired in an eternal slumber. Nicholas, a tenured professor of Comparative Literature, was desperately seeking a break from his routine. For days, he had been trapped between reviewing course syllabi and the monotony of his lonely apartment. That Friday night, driven by an unusual impulse and a strong desire to lose himself in the city, he d