You’re home. Today was a regular day at work, but every subsequent regular day seems to be more and more tiring. Luckily, the Government has announced that your state shall work in a restricted manner for the next month, meaning you get to work from home the next day.
Your spouse immediately sanitizes your hands and they rush to the kitchen to sort out dinner for the family. You go towards the bathroom and take a good bath, seeping life back into your body. You walk over to the balcony, sit down and sip on the mug of coffee aptly placed by your partner.
You don’t feel like checking your phone, and the sky is muddied with deep grey clouds, so you look down at how your legs have subconsciously positioned. “Hmm… they always sat like this…” your mind rumbles as you’re suddenly reminded of your caretaker. The one who nurtured you to this point. They suddenly vanished a year ago.
It is the 2nd of June, 2030. The virus has mutated at least a hundred times now. Every now and then, lockdowns sweep across the globe.
In a similar way, almost half a billion people disappeared.
When your child taps your shoulder, you try to suppress your thoughts.
“Oh, hey.” You stare at their masked face. Yeezy Tech released a new ‘Maskphone’, that fuses headphones with masks. They seem to be obsessed with it. Then, reaccelerated by your gaze, you remember, "Those eyes......"
Suppressing your thoughts again, you try to initiate your daily conversation. “How was today?”
“You know that friend I told you about last week? He wore a skirt to class today all the boys bullied him and tried to take his lunch, so I stopped them and we ate lunch together. I think he looks great in a skirt" Your child beams as they recount their heroic feat.
“Mhmm…” You close your eyes and continue to sip your coffee.
“We also learned how to make a calculator in Scratch today. I could teach 5 of my buddies how to make one!”
“Uh-uh. That’s great.” You reach out and pat their head. Their eyes widen in joy.
“Also… we have to stay at home and attend online classes from tomorrow.” You look back out to the sky and take a sip of your coffee.
"Hey, hey. I'd like to ask you something about your face. Why do you look so tired all the time?" your child pokes you.
In the past, you never had to confess your emotions to anyone, but today you had grown tired of suppressing them.
Life wasn't like this 10 years ago. There were no masks to wear. We could go wherever we wanted.
A long pause.
“…… Oh.” Your child counts their fingers. “Well, that was before I was here, then.” “It was a fun time. You could go anywhere you wanted and be with as many people as you wanted. We were so free…” Your lips tremble a little into a smile, thinking of the good old times.
“But we are free?”
“What do you mean? All I do is work all day.”
“Would you not be doing that even if the pandemic wasn’t here?”
You pause for a moment. "I--" You pause. “Well, what would you do differently if the pandemic didn't exist?” you ask yourself.
As a child, you wanted to go to other planets, and the adults told you that outer space is dangerous. But you were still free on earth to do so much.
Now your child wants to go to a friend’s house, and you tell them the roads are dangerous. But the child is still free in their home to do so much.
Your mind rushes again. “So what if you’re stuck at home? You have the job you want instead of having to obey what they said and ending up in a profession that you didn’t like as much. They wanted you to marry some person, but you chose your partner and settled with them in the way you wanted. Your child is such a ray of sunshine and constantly making you proud. How can you say you are not free? It almost feels like everything went upward after they passed. Maybe them dying was a good thing?”
“Hey, HEY! What happened?”
Blinking a bit, you break out of your spiral once more.
“So tell me more about this ancient world.” They sit cross-legged on the other chair by you. “Yeah, well, we got to walk around without a mask on.”
“Oh, so everyone just showed everyone how ugly their teeth were?”
You instinctively cover your mouth and widen your eyes. “Uh, I guess that’s how it was. Also, I used to have everyone around for my birthday parties!”
“Really?! That sounds so weird…”
Suddenly, you realize your child is going to turn 7 the next day. They have never known what life was like before the virus. Luckily, the gift is ready. It’s just that you forgot about it again in the rush of your thoughts. You fall silent again and remember everything that happened 10 years ago and earlier.
As you look outside, a crazed man with his face exposed trudges outside. He holds the same old signboard that you’ve been seeing for years. The same old anti-vax propaganda. The same old mask slander. But most importantly, the phrase “GOD WILL PROTECT US” flashes across your eyes.
“You miss the old world, huh?”
“Maybe I do.” You take your phone and scroll through it. Looks like Ye has finally dropped Donda 2.
“I’ll talk to God then. Tell them to end the pandemic just for one day so you can see the old world again. And so that people can physically come to see my birthday party too! But only for one day ok? I don’t think I like the old world.”
“Heh. Thanks, champ.” You can’t help but smile at the irony of your child versus the sloganeer outside, who was just getting apprehended by police vehicles. He would probably spend the next few weeks locked up while you would simply stay locked down. The sun cracked through the clouds just before setting, casting a bright vermillion all over you.
It's possible that freedom was never lost, just changed in a way that made it seem that way. Maybe there still was hope.
“Hey.” You get up and grab their arm. “It’s gonna start raining badly. Let’s go in.”
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