Genre: Speculative Literary
Audience: Adult
Status: Draft
In a world ravaged by the climate crisis, 18-year-old Winnie finds solace with her adoptive Grandmother in an old house nestled deep in the forest. Their home is a rare respite from the storms and wars surrounding them, but everything changes when a community of nomads settle nearby.
They don’t like Winnie. There’s something odd about her consistently bare feet, wild red hair, and the way she looks at the trees, She simply doesn’t fit in.
Winnie doesn’t like the nomads. She prefers building her relationship with the forest, listening to the language of the trees and the myriad of ways they support each other. Winnie believes humans are savages deserving of the apocalyptic situation they’ve created for themselves.
That is, until she gets to know two of the nomads at the settlement, to one of which she feels an unavoidable attraction. She manages to subdue her feelings only until the trees warn her of an impending flood that could kill the nomads within days. Winnie must find a way to convince them to leave their new piece of paradise, while also convincing herself that humans are worth the trouble.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Sarah Long Writes 