Then, after many months of confinement, the world started to slowly move once again. At first reticently, fear reigned. We found it hard to remember what life had been like before. Had we really taken that holiday at the beginning of the year? Was it true that we had hugged our family at Christmas time? Did that party with friends really take place? It all seemed so unbelievable what we had gone through. Like a horribly bad dream.
So many lives lost and destroyed. So much suffering. Jobs were lost and poverty prevailed. So many selfless people toiling to heal and help others. So many happy plans quashed. By the terrible virus. The virus that took away our hopes, our enthusiasm and our future. We were tired of it all.
Some people had been lulled into a sense of security, cocooned within their own homes. Comfortable, safe and cosy. Content with their families, books, baking and video calls. Nothing could blight them whilst they were protected. These people found it hard to go out once the lockdown had been lifted. They were fearful of what might be out there. They were scared of the invisible enemy. They could not carry out their day-to-day activities and lacked confidence. Venturing out to a shop was stressful and meeting up with friends was tainted by suspicion. The virus was in the air, on a wine glass, door handle and on the food packets. It was everywhere.
Other people were seized with a frantic wish to get out, to break free of the confinement of four walls. They wanted to see their friends, go out for a run in the fresh air, have a beer sitting at a terrace. They had missed their social lives, they had longed to go out, eat at restaurants and drink at bars. They did not wear masks. They broke all the rules. They drove for miles. After all, the figures were down, the virus had gone, hadn’t it?
Mistrust was engrained into our psyche. We eyed each other suspiciously, and we moved out of the way from people in the street. If someone coughed they had the virus. Our elbows were used for sneezes and for pushing elevator buttons.
It became normal to keep a distance and we were guided by markings on the floor. Masks had to be worn in shops and our hands became dry from too much sanitizer. We saw our reflection in Perspex screens. Behind our face coverings we became anonymous. We had to communicate with our eyes as our smiles were hidden and our voices muffled.
Travel was still not possible. The skies were still empty of planes and the airports ghostly. We dreamt of summer holidays, of warmer climes, beaches and mountains. We longed to see our families who were far away and whose faces we had got accustomed to seeing on a screen.
Eventually we forced ourselves to be optimistic. Things could only get better. A vaccine would be found soon. The sun was shining. The figures were going down and the experts were reassuring.
We wondered whether the world would ever be normal again.
We waited for a long time.
This piece is a sequel to The Year the World Stood Still by the same author.
