The Plains

A New Home - ​The Plains

By Heba Di Giacomo

Leaving the Mountains

You begin your journey high in the mountains, where you’ve been living through cold winds, thin air, and endless stone.

As you climb down the narrow paths, you remember the bite of winter storms that sliced through your clothes, the ache of hunger after long hunts, the heavy silence of nights when even the fire couldn’t warm your bones.

You remember following elk through deep snow, your heart pounding with fear and hope. You remember melting ice for water and watching for rockfalls. You are now ready to leave this life filled with risk and adventure and explore the plains.

Arriving at the Plains

You step out onto rolling grasslands, the sky stretches endlessly over your head. Tall grass sways like waves on a green ocean. For the first time, you feel the earth soft under your feet. You see a river for the first time. This abundance of water is so intense. No more melting ice for fresh water? You hear sounds that you have never heard before, like birds calling, insects buzzing, and herds of animals thundering and shaking the ground beneath you.

You look for a place to hide, but don't see any. You feel scared and exposed. Uncertain. You can’t hide behind rocks anymore. There are no cliffs to watch from. No caves to shelter you.
Everything here depends on your choices.

Open Ended

Your legs still remember the sharp rocks of the mountains as you step into the grasslands. The ground feels soft now. After months of harsh cliffs and freezing winds, the warmth here feels like a trick. Tall grass brushes your legs and whispers around you, reminding you how small you are in a place with no hiding places. After the mountains’ tight grip, everything here feels open and exposed. Where will you go first?
A. Move toward the river for water and safety
B. Stay on higher ground to watch the herds
C. Explore slowly. You don’t trust the openness yet
Explain how coming from the mountains shapes your feelings in this new land.

Storm or fire?

One afternoon, the sky turns dark in a way that reminds you of mountain blizzards, but instead of snow, lightning strikes the plains. Fire leaps instantly across the dry grass, racing fast across the fields. You feel that same fear you felt on mountain cliffs. The feeling that nature can destroy you in a single moment. Smoke burns your eyes. You run until your lungs ache, the fire roaring behind you like an angry beast. What do you do? You were not prepared for this.

Open Ended

What is one way that you can stay safe in the face of this natural disaster? Explain how you can make it work.

The River

In the mountains, water was precious. It was frozen, hidden, and hard to reach.
Here, the river is loud and alive, rushing with force and promising stability and consistent supply of food. Something you never thought was possible.

You quickly settle near its banks, grateful for the clear water and fish. But when heavy rains fall, the river swells and floods your camp. Your belongings drift away in the current. Canoes you built with pride are thrown like toys.

You feel confused. How can something so helpful become so dangerous?

Open Ended

Do you…
A. Move to higher ground and rebuild
B. Build barriers to protect your new fields
C. Abandon the river and focus on hunting again
Explain how the river’s dual nature affects your trust in this land.

You Plant and They Eat

As you settle, you observe the plants intently and learn how to farm. Over time, you grow your own plants and settle around them in huts meant to last. As crops ripen and get ready for harvest, small animals beat you to it, birds snatch seeds and pick on fruit from your fields. Insects chew the leaves you tenderly planted. Foxes steal eggs. They even eat their way into what little you hoped to store for winter. Every night, the grass rustles with unseen movement.
Nature here is full. That fullness means you are never the only one eating.

Open Ended

Do you…
A. Try to build tools that protect your crops
B. Hunt more often to reduce animal pressure
C. Accept nature’s share and plant extra
Explain the emotions of trying to claim food in a land where everything wants to eat.

Time for a decision. Is this home?

Time passes. You begin to understand the rhythm of the plains. You learn to tell the signs of an upcoming fire and understand that it clears old grass. You learn that rain is a sign of flood, and that floods that renew soil. You are becoming an expert farmer, giving your family food and stability. The earth feels soft beneath your feet, like it’s inviting you to stay.

But the dangers still echo in your mind. Fire, floods, predators, the endless exposure with no stone walls to protect you.

You stand in the tall grass think very carefully about whether this could be your new home.

Open Ended

Would you choose to stay in the plains forever?
Explain your decision with both mountain memories and plains experiences.