Ash

Ash is a writer and journalist in her mid 30s doing a postdoc in anthropology at College of the Ferns. She rents a room from an elderly author named Eva on the north side of the river.

She moved to town recently, drawn by the opportunity to research and write about the city’s unusual political situation, in particular the neighborhood mutual aid networks that popped up after local government effectively disbanded in 2008. Her work as an anthropologist makes her a somewhat mysterious presence around town. She is naturally quiet and reserved, often content to observe others rather than jump into the action.

Ash is bisexual and in a long-distance polyamorous relationship with Elsa, who lives in Berlin, where Ash studied at university and lived until she moved to Fern River. The two women talk over satphone often. They both see other people casually.

As a lifelong swimmer, Ash frequents the pool in winter, and the north bank of the river during the warm months. She often chooses a secluded spot across the water from Heather Beach, where she can swim in solitude under the overhanging willows.