Hello fine people of writing community!
On 
My timer is set to 5 minutes, so let's go and see where this takes us!
Lorie picked up the last piece of broken glass that could fit in her little torn backpack. She imagined it could have been a part of some colorful vase or maybe even a plate. It was molded by the sea and had no sharp edges. She looked right through it's little hole in the middle, but as far as she could see only the wast rubbish towers stood.
Her parents told her the stories of great cities, long beaches and clear air. It all sounded a bit like a fairy tale, while she tried to take a few deep breaths under the new masks she had to wear over her nose and mouth. Even as a child of only eight years old, she knew never to take the mask off, because the air was not safe enough. Nothing was safe, not even that piece of glass.
Her little village stood on one of the remaining ruins left after the Great Year of Hunger. She learned how to separate trash from food, to help her family stay alive. But there was so little food left to be found that sometimes a piece of glass and imagination would replace a meal. She would lie in her bed and look through the torn fabric that replaced the roof, imagining stars where now only thick fog lies. Twinkling light from the candle made the glass spread it's shine, falling on the walls like little droplets of rain, making her forget for just a moment.
Lorie dreamed of the day when air becomes so pure, so clean. She would take the mask off, inhale the sweet musky smell of fresh flowers and new grass. She saw pictures, the ones she found on the road while searching for food, of lakes, forests, clear waters and mountains and kept them all. Someones trash became her treasure many times, but these photos were her prized possession.
She might not have much, but she had imagination of a child, as it should be. Wild and unlimited, uncorrupted by harsh life and full of hope. Lorie knew that this can't be all there is left. Not even the tall towers of trash could hide the promise of a better life from her.
With love,
Tamara