She swore she had heard of it before from her parents, she just couldn’t quite put her finger on what they said. But nevermind that. She kept on reading about it, and was soon immensely intrigued. She knew that she read about loads of epidemics, such as the Spanish Flu, or the Yellow Fever, but this was actually pretty recent. In fact, it was exactly 20 years ago, in 2020! And this wasn’t just any epidemic, it was a pandemic, which means it went global! “Wow, this really must have affected people” she thought out loud. She continued reading, completely hooked to this subject. She was lost in masks and toilet paper, and something called zoom when her mom called her for dinner. “Coming!” she shouted from her room.
As Keira walked down the stairs, she thought about how this impacted history and the people in it, because, I mean, she couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be stuck at home for over a year. What did it feel like? Like a cozy feeling of warmth inside of a home, or a sickly feeling to be entrapped for months on end?
All during dinner, she tried to brush it off, but she always came back to the coronavirus, it just fascinated her. Stabbing her fork into her mashed potatoes, she pondered if she should ask her mom about it. Just like Keira, her mom was a history enthusiast, and always had lengthy conversations with Keira about loads of events over the course, unlike her brother, Ethan, who only cared about video games. She finally came to the conclusion that since she was so curious about this topic, that she should go ahead and ask. It was the perfect moment because her mother saw Keira not eating, and asked her “Keira, what’s on your mind? Anything you want to talk about?” Keira responded, “Oh, actually, yeah. There was something. Today I was reading about this pandemic called the coronavirus, er, COVID-19, and it was just super interesting, so I just wondered if you knew anything about it.” Keira’s mothers face went blank, but then it softened, and she explained it to her. “Keira, I’m actually glad you asked about the coronavirus, because I was actually a big part of it.” Keira was both confused and engrossed at the same time, but she let her mother continue.
Her mother cleared her throat and continued to speak. “The coronavirus was a big turning point in history, and it really changed the perspective of many people as well. We had overcome so much, and during those painful months, we had battled racial justice, mental health, and so much more. Our president wasn’t much of a help though.” she chuckled. “And in fact, I was a survivor of the coronavirus pandemic.” Keira was shocked.
“ How come you never told me this?!” she gasped. She couldn’t believe that HER very own mother actually beat a virus. It was incredible. “I honestly don’t know, Keira, I think it was because I, and many people, didn't want to relive and retell upsetting memories, but I think that you deserve to know.” Keira’s mother briefly pushed her chair back from the dinner table and fixed her rather traumatized face to a calmer one.“
A Blast from The Pandemic
Hana Sor
Hana Sor