Courtnee squeezed her shoulder and took a noisy sip of tea, and Juliette lifted her mug to do the same. As soon as the warm water hit her lips, there was an explosion of flavor, a richness like the smell of the flower stalls in the bazaar and also the upturned loam of a productive grow plot. It was a first kiss. It was lemon and rose. There were sparks in her vision from the heady rush. Juliette’s mind shuddered.
“What is this?” she asked, gasping for air. “This is from the supplies we pulled?”
Courtnee laughed and leaned against Juliette. “It’s good, right?”
“It’s great. It’s … amazing.”
“Maybe we should go back for another load,” Courtnee said.
“If we do that, I might not carry anything else.”
The two women laughed quietly. They sat together, gazing up at the clouds and the occasional star for a while. The fire nearest them crackled and spat sparks, and a handful of quiet conversations drifted deep into the trees where bugs sang a chorus and some unseen beast howled.
“Do you think we’ll make it?” Courtnee asked after a long pause.
Juliette took another sip of the miraculous drink. She imagined the world they might build with time and resources, with no rules but what’s best and no one to pin down their dreams.
“I think we’ll make it,” she finally said. “I think we can make any damn thing we like.”