Julie Thompson pulled her coat tighter around her as she walked briskly toward the hospital. Her boots crunched loudly in the fresh snow, and her breath formed small clouds in the icy air. It was her third consecutive night shift, and though she was used to the rhythm of her job, the exhaustion had begun to creep in.
The freezing air didn’t help—it nipped at her cheeks and stung her fingers, even through her gloves. As she approached the hospital, the sight of its warmly lit windows offered a welcome reprieve from the cold.