Times had changed and as she drove her tiny car up the
steep road wondering whether or not it would make it up to the top, she thought
about the past months – 9 in all- where everyone was lockdown in their homes
and now because a vaccine had been invented, people were able to go out and
meet. However, these meetings were limited to ten people and these meeting
places had to be reported to the governmental authorities, whom would show up
at any moment to check up on the information. If the gathering had a person
more all the members would be fined, and the host would have to show up in
court once a month up to six months. She knew she could trust these people so without
worries she but on her face mask, which matched her outfit, got in her car and
turned on the GPS for directions.
With every meter the car went up, she imagined it
doing flipflops back wards and rolling back down the hill. She had seen a few
cars she recognized parked along the road, but there was no way she was going
to hike up that hill. She was totally out of shape, who wasn´t? People stayed
indoors for nine months. Many people had given up exercising, herself included.
In the beginning, people thought that it would only be a few weeks spent
indoors, but then with every governmental announcement events started piling up
and deep down you knew that this was going to take a while to go back to
normal. If normal was the place to go back to.
After a slow ride up the mountain, she managed to park
behind a friend´s car. She did not know he would be there. It feared her how
she would feel not being able to hug her friends whom she had not seen in
person, only behind a screen, no touching, no handshaking, no sitting together.
Definitely it was not going to be normal. She got out of the car trying to
focus on each step to the door and was greeted at the door with a huge smile in
her eyes by her dear friend who was hosting the party. Her smile was in her
eyes because with a mask on it is very hard to tell whether there is a smile
hiding or not. However, the eyes do not lie.
-I am so glad that you could make it.
-Likewise.
In the back of her mind was she really glad to be
there kept knocking on her brain. She had stayed home for the nine months without
physical contact with others, it scared her. Could she really trust the
decisions that were being made by the governmental officials in this situation.
Her body was not a spitting image of health and catching the virus would de
devastating.
-
I
brought a gluten-free dessert.
-
Oh,
how sweet of you. It really wasn´t necessary.
-
I
know but I guess it would make a good conversation piece.
What was she blurting out? A good conversation piece? All
these people had been stuck in their homes for nine months and so much had
changed in the world, and here she was thinking she needed a conversation
piece.
Before being able to enter the house, she had to go
through the sanitizing station, every home had one these days. It was like a
small bathroom shower that had shower heads on the ceiling, on the floor and all
around. It let out a small sprinkle of water from each shower head and in one
minute you were sanitized from head to toe. All the homes had them. It was
something that the government made everyone buy and install. If you lived in a
building, it was in each garage because of the lack of space in the apartments.
In the poor part of town, they had been installed in mobile trucks and people
lined up to use them before going into their homes. These were measures to keep
the people safe. Millions of people had died during these past nine months and
no one wanted even more people to suffer by catching the virus. What a powerful
virus. Mysterious and invisible but deadly.
Everyone said hello with a nod, words or by touching
elbows. Even though everyone had gone through the body sanitizer, there were
rules to be obeyed. No touching, no kissing, no handshaking. It felt so unreal.
She longed for a hug no one knew but it was her birthday. Being confined to
your home for so long makes you forget what day of the week it is or even day
of the month. She spotted a comfortable chair in a safe distance and tried to
enjoy herself.
Everyone had a story to tell about their social
distancing time, or physical distancing time as she preferred to call it. For
looking at the ten people there, she noticed that everyone gained some weight,
looked more rested, and each and everyone had brought a dish that they
specialized in making during the pandemic. It was kind of amusing, but we also
knew some loved ones who had departed. Freaking virus.
Half hour into the event, the doorbell rang and a
government official came to the door to check. It was a surreal setting. The
official came in, went through the sanitizing station, asked each and everyone
for their ID and then he realized a robot that quickly checked the house for
other people. The whole operation lasted a few minutes. It made everyone
uncomfortable. You were free to leave your residences and go to parties, but
you were still a prisoner to the virus or the government.
After the official left, then the party really
started. She had a splendid time. The laughed, talked, eyes welled up and even
danced, of course keeping a safe distance from each other.
It was nearly time to go, when the host came out of
the kitchen with a birthday cake and a few artificial candles lit on top. (
These candles you did not blow, they had a turn on and off button- safety
first.)
-Happy birthday to you! – everyone sang.
With a grateful smile, they had remembered.
-Turn off the candles. – everyone laughed.
Ok, let´s have some cake. It´s gluten-free.
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