Winter had come. At night, the temperature in the valley fell to single digits and did not warm up until late morning. Caleb awoke to half a dozen inches of fresh powder. He could only imagine the scene thousands of feet above, in Breckenridge and Vail; the cheers seemed to echo down the Front Range. The perfume of decaying autumn leaves drifted in through the windows; on the trails the sun against the snow created golds in hues he had no names for. That afternoon, the Happy Trails Running Club meditated in a circle by the fireplace, their rows of wet shoes stacked neatly by the front door. Alice came slowly down the stairs. She stood there a moment, tears in her eyes, and announced that her roommate was gone. “She just left?” Kevin Yu asked, shocked. “I chased after her. I asked her what was up, but she just shook her head no. She was upset.” “Was someone waiting for her?” John asked.
