The End

The End:

The air is thin. Brital. Like the silence magnified inside your head is being produced by the outside world. Overdramatic-maybe, but accurate, definitely. I’m hesitant to step outside. While death seems a valuable option in passing, to actually die is a whole other matter. I’m about to step back inside the safety of my house, when my own loneliness stops me. The need to see someone, even a stranger, is overwhelming, and with that thought I take another step. 

Into the Sunlight:

Even though I am surrounded by Earth I feel I can’t breath. My mask is suffocating and the latex gloves coating my hands makes me feel antiseptic. Too clean. I open the door to my car and cough as particles of dust float around me. I missed this. The normalcy of the action. Except nothing’s normal anymore. I put the key in the ignition and it stalls a couple times, before finally starting. The radio blares,

“ATTENTION: ALL PERSONS OF THE UNITED STATES, SARS-CoV-2 IS OFFICIALLY EXTINCT-ACTIVITY MAY RESUME TO NORMAL AS LONG AS NATIONAL GUIDELINES ARE ADHERED…”

I shut it off, nauseated. The world, once a home, now feels foreign. I feel a tingle up my spine as I start down the road. I think I’m being watched. 

Who’s Watching:

I pass my neighborhood into the city. Once bustling with life, now barren. Shops, while open, are marked with caution tape to separate crowds, offices are filled with disinfectant. I’ve always hated the smell of bleach. Maybe I’m selfish but don’t we deserve better? We are herded like animals to and from places, with enforced curfews as if we are once again children. I suppose we are, only children would handle the pandemic like we did, and now the adults must punish us, and enforce their watchful eye. I reach my destination and the expanse of water makes me breathless. It’s been years and everything’s different, yet the same since I last visited. The crashing of waves almost calms me. And then I spot them. 

The Punishment:

A couple. Innocent at first glance, until you look closer. A foot apart, legs entangled, in love. My own panic rises, I want to say something, a warning to them, but something stops me. Jealously. I’m alone and they are not. I really am selfish. I see two police cars pull up next to me and for a second I’m no longer jealous of the couple. I’m scared. Four officers, two from each car, reeking of disinfectant covered in masks and gloves, pass me with no more than a glance. I can only see their eyes. They approach the couple. I can’t hear them but I know what’s about to happen. My heart starts pounding as they ask to see both of their IDs. We had to get our ID changed to state who our spouse is, because of the fact that we are only allowed within 6 feet to those we are married to. Many couples choose to ignore this and never marry, it’s easier than going through the process and screaming. I hate that couple, for their love, their happiness, and their stupidity. The officers take one glance at the IDs before pocketing them. They move toward the couple, and I can see the terror in their eyes. The man stands in front of the woman and I can see his mouth. At first it seems angry, lost in argument, before I realize it’s something else entirely. Pleading. The woman drops to her knees begging her boyfriend to stop. He’s only making it worse. Two of the four officers seize the man dragging him by his shoulders while the woman is escorted by the others. They are pushed into the back of two seperate cars, and start banging on the windows towards each other. I can’t look away. The woman starts screaming, thrashing more violently, desperately and I accidentally meet her eyes. She pauses for a moment, and I am about to open my mouth, to say what, I don’t know, but suddenly I see her slump, unconscious. Her boyfriend goes mute at the sight. The offender, a needle, produced by one of the latex-covered hands is thrown into the parking lot, before both cars drive away. I watch the cars, until they are no more than dark specks on the horizon. I look back towards the ocean, towards those violent crashing waves and the sting of salt. This is no longer my home. I no longer have one. 

#prose #story #challenge #COVID19 #covid #lonely #beach #isolation #government #dysoptian #future