Octavia E Butler's "Speech Sounds" (short story, post-apocalypse survival, free): What if people could no longer speak or read?

This is quite a dark story, but with a somewhat hopeful ending.

Story summary.

An unspecified "illness" swept through the world, killing many, & seriously paralyzing others. Paralysis not only of body, but of intellect too - some lost ability to speak, some lost ability to read or comprehend, ...

This is the story of a woman who, having lost everyone she loved, is looking
for some kind of companionship in this mad world.

Fact sheet.

First published: Asimov's, Mid-December 1983.
Download full text from Google cache.
Rating: B.
Winner of Hugo Award 1984 in short story category.