Unraveling

She frowned and kicked her feet in frustration.

“We have to be apart right now.”

“But I miss Baba!!!” she wailed.

A few months ago, my husband decided to quarantine in a separate room, just in case. He had some symptoms, and we didn’t want to risk getting me sick (since I have asthma), nor our young kids.

Ring…. Ring….

“BABA!” my daughter exclaimed. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the screen.

Then, a pair of brown ears and an animal face appeared.

“You’re a monkey?!?!” she giggled. We had never used the animoji setting on Facetime before.

Her laughter was a fresh breath of air; it gave me the boost I needed to get through the longest, most exhausting days.

~ ~ ~

A few weeks ago

Bright sun light poured into the room. But it didn’t wake him. He probably arrived home around 4 or 5 a.m.

I took one glance at him, then ushered my baby and toddler towards the stairs. “Let him sleep. We have to stay far for now. Just in case.”

He was wearing a mask… while sleeping.

Later, after he woke, he explained. “I had a really sick patient. We worked so hard to save them, but after all our efforts, the patient died anyway.”

I sighed.

“Then today I found out … they were positive for COVID.”

“Were you wearing all the PPE?”

“I was.. but I was covered in body fluids…

Covered.”

~ ~ ~

A few days ago

Walking towards the sink, I reached my arm out to lower a cup into the sink.

“DON’T come near me.”

I froze.

“I don’t know….I don’t know if I have it.”

“Huh?!”

“I saw so many patients with it last night. They cough so much, they coughed all over me, they cannot help it.”

“Then what are you doing? Should you be upstairs in quarantine?”

He put the sponge aside. “I’m just trying to be helpful.”

~ ~ ~

“It looks like rain again today.
I’m soaked to the bone
Still won’t stop
Running faster than that cloud of rain
Thought that’d be enough
Guess I’m only human after all…

There’s no end in sight
Is there a way out?
My feet refuse to move…
Close your eyes for a moment
Hold my hand
To that future, let’s run away…”

-BTS, Life Goes On