May 2039…
Very soon now I will be alone… completely, utterly alone… no one to hold a conversation with, or say hello to… not even one other person to wave to in passing. But I will be alive and that’s what counts – right?
The last remaining person – besides myself – will soon be gone, an old lady who always reminded me of my dear, late Aunt Tilly, not happy unless her knitting needles were in her hands. Mrs. Wright now lay at death’s door and I knew it was only a matter of hours. I had done what I could for her but a life of 104 years had finally taken its toll. I would miss her.
I wonder what it will be like living in a community with a population of one. There had been about 350 people here when I first arrived. That was nearly twenty years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday…
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May 2020…
I had just returned to the city from my annual two-week retreat in the mountains and was horrified to learn what had raised its ugly head during my absence. A virus, which had started somewhere over in Asia, was sweeping around the globe and had now been declared a pandemic. COVID-19 they were calling it. Hundreds of thousands of people were infected. The death rate was through the roof and the numbers were still climbing. Restrictions were being placed on international travel. Many countries began to impose lockdowns that severely curtailed movement of the general population, in a desperate attempt to slow the spread of the virus… to flatten the curve, as they put it.
Of course, the word pandemic started a panic and people began hoarding the cleaning supplies they thought were necessary to keep the virus at bay… many of them forgetting – or ignoring – the fact that plain old soap and water was just as effective as anything. Strangest thing of all though was the mass stockpiling of toilet tissue, with some buying it by the case, until most stores put limits on what each customer could buy.
Two days later, my laundry was done and I was starting to get edgy. I was sure I had a fever, even though the digital thermometer didn’t show it… darn thing probably wasn’t working right anyway. My throat felt a little tender and I was coughing now and then. I was starting to get a headache too. All signs of the virus, right? Common sense tried to tell me it was just my hypochondria but did I believe it? No way!
