Montreal, Mont Royal Station

Black woman, late 20s, wearing long brown and white speckled coat, cinched at the waist by a wide belt, reading while walking up the stairs.

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (Seal Books)

Page 275:

I found the old window to my old bedroom, second floor, third window south of the main steps to the house. I stood on tip-toes, saw nothing behind the window but shadows. Twenty-five years earlier, I had stood behind that same window, thick rain dripping down the panes and my breath fogging up the glass. I had watched Hassan and Ali load their belongings into the trunk of my father's car.

She pulls up her collar in the doorway but stops short of going outside. A young boy has taken over the tarmac with his remote controlled jeep and it's started to snow, large flakes coming from every direction, the mountain barely a shadow in the distance. She steps back, a stranger spinning at her elbow, and rests her bag between her feet at the window. Fumbling through her purse, she retrieves the book and opens it on the ledge.