he 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 wildfire smoke t
In 2035, the air hung heavy with heat and the acrid scent of smoke, transforming the world outside into a hazy dystopia. For a week, temperatures soared past 95 degrees, and now, the news warned of another stretch of relentless triple digits. Maya stared at her worn-out air purifier, the machine’s filter long past due for a change, while the red AQI warning glared ominously on her phone: 215, “very unhealthy.” Even indoors, the heat pressed against her skin, her single window unit AC barely managing to temper the oppressive air. Outside, visibility was reduced to a few blocks, the wildfire smoke curling through the city like a living entity, infiltrating cracks and lungs alike. Neighbors shuffled outside briefly with dampened masks and resigned expressions, fetching groceries in sweltering bursts before retreating to their poorly insulated apartments. Maya’s daughter coughed faintly in her sleep, and Maya’s chest tightened, not just from the air, but from the weight of helplessness. This wasn’t just weather, it was a symptom of the world’s fever, and Maya wondered how long it could endure before everything burned away.