The Future

Boy: What was it like?

Man: You mean before the virus?

Boy: Yeah. What was it like back then?

Man: Well, let me see if I can remember. Things are very different now. History changed when the virus came.

Boy: I read somewhere people could go outside?

Man: Yes, that is right. People, like you and me, could travel all around the world and intermingle and see sights and eat foods and enjoy each other before the virus.

Boy: What else?

Man: Well, people worked in field’s together and raised animals on farms. Some worked in offices in tall glass and steel buildings called cities. People lived together in houses. There were lawyers and doctors and accountants and manufacturers. Everyone seemed to have something to do. They were very busy.

Boy: And then the virus?

Man: When the virus came, everyone was scared and didn’t know what to do so they hid.

Boy: Hid?

Man: The people called ‘leaders’ hadn’t thought about a worldwide pandemic (that is what they called it) that would make people sick and die.

Boy: What did these ‘leaders’ do?

Man: They told everyone to run inside and stay away from each other because there wasn’t a sign of who had the virus and who didn’t. They told the businesses to close down and all the workers lost their money.

Boy: How long did they hid?

Man: At first there was the thought that the virus would go away, but people kept getting sick and dying. Everyday there would be numbers posted of how many were sick and how many died.

Boy: Then what happened?

Man: People got bored of being inside. It is said ‘we’ are a social creature and wanted to get back together with friends and family. The local authorities put out warnings and executive orders and recommendations, but people left the darkness of their rooms and into the light.

Boy: Then what happened?

Man: People disregarded their restrictions and went back to shaking hands and back slapping and hugging each other. Since it had been some time apart, they were ever kissing strangers.

Boy: Kissing?

Man: I’ll tell you about that later. Let us just say, people gathered in large groups and enjoyed each other’s company until….

Boy: The second wave?

Man: You have been paying attention. The virus spread with abandonment and more people got sick and more people died.

Boy: Why didn’t they obey the rules?

Man: Our species have never been known for being smart. Since we crawled out of the water we have been struggling with our variations. We envy and steal and even kill each other for no good reason and only things like the virus stops us.

Boy: Why didn’t we get along?

Man: That young man is the eternal question. The virus brought that out in all of us. As it spread from city to city people started being afraid of each other. They built walls and refused entry to anyone they didn’t know.

Boy: But that didn’t stop the virus?

Man: No, that didn’t stop the virus. The leaders came up with promises but rumors and gossip spread faster. People were making their own concoctions and remedies in hopes to stop the virus but it didn’t work. More people got sick. More people died.

Boy: What about a cure?

Man: The great minds of the world were all competing for a solution but this virus kept changing. Once a vaccine was found, the virus adapted and became immune to that formula. At first the virus was affecting the respiratory system, then it seem to be creating problems with other organs. The liver, kidneys and even the heart became vulnerable to this virus.

Boy: What did the doctors do?

Man: No matter how hard they tried, the virus kept morphing into a version they hadn’t expected. The virus continued to spread. More people got sick. More people died, including doctors and nurses.

Boy: Doctors got sick?

Man: Doctors and nurses and ambulance drivers and firemen and police all got sick. They tried to protect themselves but they had to touch those who were sick. With all the sterilization and washing and shields and gloves and coverings, they were overwhelmed.

Boy: What happened if you got sick?

Man: You could call the emergency line but no one was left to come and get you. If you could get to a care center, there were no beds available and not enough staff to help. Beside the hospital was full of bodies so it was not the best place to go.

Boy: Is that when it happened?

Man: People became desperate when the grocery stores closed due to all the employees getting sick or not coming to work. After they were looted, there was no food.

Boy: What did they eat?

Man: Many didn’t and starved. Some had planted gardens for a minimum survival. Some started living off dogs and cats and rats, but they got the virus too. Some started invading other houses to steal from their pantries.   

Boy: That is robbery?

Man: Law and order was breaking down. The National Guard was called up but the citizen soldiers were out numbered and in some cases, out gunned.

Boy: What about the army?

Man: The army and navy and air force were spread all over the world and so was the virus. Ships were docked because there were not enough sailors to man them. The soldiers were fighting terrorist but both sides were dwindling under the virus rather than bullets and bombs?

Boy: How did people protect themselves?

Man: This country is full of guns and bullets. Neighbors would block off streets with homemade barricades. Didn’t matter ‘friend or foe’ whoever got close would be shot? No questions asked. Anyone outside the neighborhood was suspicious. Children were isolated inside. Education was a thing of the past. This was the survival of the fittest.

Boy: What were schools?

Man: Schools were places where children would gather in rooms with desk and chairs and a teacher would instruct them on subjects like reading and writing and arithmetic.

Boy: Arithmetic?

Man: Numbers. People needed to be able to add numbers and subtract numbers. They needed numbers to count their children. They needed numbers to count the bodies. So children had to learn how to read the numbers and write the numbers.

Boy: What happened to the schools?

Man: At first the schools were closed and all the children sent home to their parents. Everyone thought this was temporary so parents tried to home-school their children, but they didn’t know the curriculum or basically how-to-teach. This was a DIY project that came with no instructions and affected the next generation. The teachers tried to make online classes until the Internet went down.

Boy: Internet?

Man: When the virus came, everyone went home to work on the Internet. It was the link around the world, as televisions and radio and newspapers and books had spread the word before. Everyone thought they could send pictures and words to anyone and watch movies and listen to music without any restrictions but then all the computers started overheating and the people who ran the wires started getting sick and one-by-one areas became dark.

Boy: So why are we all not dead?

Man: Good question. Seems that after some time, our species adapt and find enough anti-bodies to become immune to the virus, at least for now. It is still out there, but it always has been so we live day-by-day.

Boy: What about tomorrow?

Man: See that guy way down there?

Boy: The fella riding a bike?

Man: Yeah. I see him riding by everyday about this time. I don’t know who he is or where he came from or where he is going, but he seems to have a routine.

Boy: Are routines good?

Man: There was a time, way back when, we set our watches and clocks to alarm us a time to follow a routine. We woke up at a certain time. We got washed and dressed. We all went to different places to do what we had to do, which was another routine. We’d ended the day with a meal and watched some silly shows before going to sleep and repeating the process.

Boy: Do we have routines now?

Man: We make our own routines now. There are very few of us left and we don’t interact the way we used to, so we create our own use of time and space. Some seem to have flourished in this ‘free time’ while others need structured instructions of a place in time. This is a new normal and we are still working it out.

Boy: Will we survive?

Man: Listen. Do you hear that robin? It has survived and has a new family. You can listen to the call and answer. Look over there. See those bunnies? They just come to the same spot at the same time everyday. You wake up at about the same time every morning and go to sleep about the same time every night. It is your body telling you when to rest and when to enjoy the day. Now let’s go out and pick some blueberries. I see hungry faces.