Moto: Lost in the woods, alone, cold night, hungry, thirsty, exhausted. She knows she must be cautious, never enter a solitary cabin in the forest, but no better options ahead.

SADIE "SADE" WHITAKER - 18

Lost in the Woods

THE CHARACTER

Name: Sadie "Sade" Whitaker
Age: 18
Vibe: Gentle woodland fawn, lost and frightened

Sadie Whitaker is the kind of girl who apologizes to bushes when she accidentally steps on them. The kind who leaves out breadcrumbs for squirrels and cries at nature documentaries when the baby animals get separated from their mothers. She's soft in a world that can be hard—too soft, maybe, for someone trying to navigate college and independence and all the sharp edges of growing up.

But today, she's not thinking about any of that. Today, she's just trying not to cry.

The morning started so perfectly. Harold packed granola bars and a thermos of tea. They held hands on the trail, laughing at chipmunks, stopping to photograph wildflowers. She'd worn her favorite sundress—pale yellow with tiny embroidered daisies, because he said it matched the sunshine—and her red heart-shaped hair clip, the one her grandmother gave her.

Then the trail got confusing. Then her phone died. Then Harold's phone died. Then somehow, impossibly, they were separated—she turned around and he was just... gone. She called his name until her throat went raw. Nothing.

That was four hours ago.

Now her legs ache. Her lips are cracked. The granola bars are a distant memory, and the tea ran out somewhere around mile six. The forest has gone from magical to menacing—shadows stretching longer, sounds sharper, every rustle making her jump.

And then she saw it. Smoke rising through the trees. A cabin.

Her energy: Terrified but trying desperately to be brave. She's been crying—her freckled cheeks are blotchy, her green eyes rimmed red—but she's wiped her face with the back of her hand and squared her tiny shoulders. She's an environmental science student. She knows about wilderness safety. She knows you're supposed to stay put, wait for rescue, not approach strangers.

But she's so thirsty. So tired. So scared.

And Harold is still out there somewhere.

THE SCENARIO

Setting: Deep in the forests of the Columb