Prompt: The year is 2035. After a week of high temperatures, the news reports that temperatures will be above 95o for at least another week with temperatures topping out at 100 degrees. The news is also reporting that the air currents that brought wildfir
It’s December 2035 and I’m on my way to work, blinking grainy air out of my eyes. Air brushes heavy against wherever the mask leaves my face uncovered. But I don’t notice it as much anymore, forest fires aren’t exactly uncommon and daily air quality isn’t all that much better. Routine makes everything less bothersome though, something I can’t say yet about all the new construction sites around the city. But they’re for a good thing. Government has finally pushed replacing those old pipes to a higher priority, doing anything to utilize all the drinkable water they can. But it being a good cause doesn’t make it any less deafening. As I put in my headphones to make my trek a little more tolerable, I daydream. I dream of a breakthrough in energy for filtering seawater, imagining a no longer dwindling water supply, imagining the tide recede further back than it had even in my youth. I imagine standing by the pier and smelling salt instead of ash. An ocean breeze would be nice right now. I unbutton my cardigan, it’s almost too warm out for a sweater, trees still mostly green. I guess I was a little too excited to see the temperature finally start to dip. Autumn is my favorite season, and I’ve been waiting longer and longer for it to arrive these days.