I m Here Now

I open my eyes and find myself standing alone in an empty room. The ceilings and the walls are neatly painted white. And the floor is composed of polished light brown wood. And there is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light comes from. A bright yellow and pale red orange light tells me the sun is setting and soon it will be dark.

I look around me, I don’t recognize this place. Maybe I should start to explore the house. I can hear the sound of my footsteps on the wooden floor. It sounds like a heavy knock on a door. 

Where is everybody? Why is no one home?  

A big brown couch welcomes me in the living room. The old couch is nearly worn out, where the white cracks are visible on the surface of the leather. I wonder how old the couch is? I sit on this only couch in the living room and observe my surroundings.

A medium sized white bookshelf stands on the left side corner beside the window. A number of books and small toys are placed in the bookshelf. Name it; fiction novels come in all sizes and children story books, and also, collectible toys from movies like Toy Story and some stuffed animals. I also noticed some picture frames.

I grab one of the picture frames, it is a photo of a little girl riding in a pink bicycle. She has black shoulder length hair and a fair complexion. She smiled for the camera and showed some of her missing teeth. She is maybe around 4 to 5 year old.  

And there is another photo of her and a woman, whom I think is her mother. Her mother also has black hair and a fair complexion. And she has a sharp nose and almond shaped eyes. Both of them are hugging a big dog. Who are these people? I asked myself while returning the picture frames back to the bookshelf.   

I look in front of me where there is a glossy white center table. And on top of the table is a book turned to page 269 and a black small cup of tea. I picked up the book and read the title, it says, The Time Traveler’s Wife. The cover of the book shows a little girl and a man’s shoes beside her. I returned the book back to its place. A cup of tea and a book, I can imagine an introvert here. And then I touched the tea cup and feel it’s smooth porcelain texture. I smell through the thin white smoke that comes from the cup, which the scorch earthly smell burnt my nostrils.

 Hell creepy when out of the blue the light turns off. After the light went off, a flat screen television beside the wall turned on. The television changed channels by itself and then tuned into the news. ‘The public are warned against the spread of Corona Virus also known as Covid 19.’ ‘Due to the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown has been implemented in numerous countries and territories worldwide.’  ‘As of now there is no known medicine against Covid 19.’  said the news anchor.

Out of nowhere the light turns back on. What the hell? What is Covid 19?

I know for sure something is not right. I cannot move an inch, it feels like my feet are glued onto the floor. I feel uneasy as my heart is pounding.

 What pandemic is she talking about?

I watch from the television the images of people locked in their homes. Like no one is literally allowed to go outside.  And there are also images of people dying at the hospital. These people rely on oxygen tanks to be able to breathe. And I noticed the nurse and doctors assisting them are covered from head to toes. They all wear a face mask.

Oh man, shit that looks scary. Am I watching a movie here?

I can feel a drop of cold sweat run down my forehead. I am contemplating  the scenes I see from the television when it shuts down by itself.

Just what happened?

And now in front of me is the blank screen of the television where I could see my own reflection. This time it is calm. There alone I sit with my legs apart on the big brown couch. I noticed that my hair and beard have grown longer. I may need to go to the barber shop very soon.