The Pestilence
A very short story I wrote on March 18, 2020.
The Pestilence
by Ruth Apolonia Zamoyta
Once upon a time all the families had to stay inside their houses or apartments for one year. They played card games, baked bread, played hide-and-seek, and video-chatted with their friends and grandparents who were living inside other houses. Some families prayed together every night, other families watched an old movie together or acted out a play. Older people helped younger people with their schoolwork, and younger people taught older people how to play video games. When one person would look out the window and see the flowers blooming and hear the birds singing, they would smile, but then cry. Their family members hugged them or gave them an ice pop and said, “Some day we will be like the birds, again. Free. We’ll smell the blossoms and touch them to our cheeks.”
One day that time came. Everyone around the world opened their doors at the same time. One family saw another family across the street, or across the hallway of their apartment building, standing in their doorway. One person took a step out, and then another person. Soon children were darting out, screaming with joy. The grown-ups did the same. They hugged and cried and talked and planned. Some immediately went to their gardens to plant vegetables. Others ran to the museums and coffee shops. Others entered the doors that had not opened, and tended to the dead.
3.18.20
The End
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