It is December 18, 1933, Jeff Fitch wakes up to a knock on his door. Two large men confront him at the door. They say that they’re here to kick Jeff out of his apartment. Jeff hadn’t paid rent for two months now. He grabs his small suitcase and walks out of the door. Jeff walks down to ground level, and prepares for his 2 mile trek across the snowy streets of New York to the small used book store he works at.
Jeff walks through the lobby door, and the cold hits him like a slap in the face. He pulls out his Zippo lighter and a cigarette from his trench coat. He lights the cigarette and starts the long walk to the bookstore. Like all the walks to work, Jeff finishes his cigarette halfway through his journey, and flicks it to the ground. The air feels a little bit colder. He takes out his pack, counts four cigarettes, and decides to light another. A few moments later Jeff arrives at the bookstore.
He opens the door, and feels slight relief from the chill of the outdoor air. He changes the sign of the book store to open. Then, he puts his suitcase behind the counter, and extinguishes his cigarette. On the counter, an envelope addressed to Jeff sits. Jeff takes the envelope and slices it open with his small knife. He reads the letter inside the envelope, and sits there a while. The letter says, “Do to low sales of the bookstore, it is closing.” Jeff is fired. In the bottom of the envelope, his last paycheck sits. It’s still not enough to pay his rent.
Jeff changes the sign to closed. For a while, he sits in the bookstore afraid of the  arctic journey he will have to make. Jeff lights another cigarette, takes his suitcase, and walks out the door into frigid streets.
By now it’s about 12:00, Jeff only knows from the sun shining directly down on him. The sun doesn’t make the air seem any warmer to him. He walks down to the local grocery store. As Jeff walks in, he feels a bit of relief from the glacial conditions outside. With the last of his money, he buys a sandwich and a half-pack of cigarettes. He sits inside the store and eats the sandwich looking out into the near blizzard conditions outside. After he finishes the sandwich, he just sits. As the sun begins to set, a store manager comes by and tells Jeff to get out. A tear rolls off Jeff’s face as he grabs his belongings, and enters into the almost unbearably numbing air.
Jeff is almost immobilized by the cold. He sees a small tree and sits down leaning against it. The tree takes what little heat he has away. He lights a cigarette as darkness overtakes the city. In an hour he only has one cigarette left, and his hands are so numb he struggles to light it. The warmth is short and cruel; as the cigarette is extinguished he feels the cold creep back inside him. Jeff takes out his check. Fumbling with frozen fingers, he lights it up. The flame is blinding and addictive. In a few seconds the flame burns out. Jeff sits in darkness, as tears freeze on his face.