The Choice

I was walking down the street

In the direction that was all too familiar

And without missing a beat

I knew where I was going with just my memory sheer.

The rain wet my hair, making them partially moist

And the droplets flowed down my cheeks, wetting them too

Funny, I thought, as my thoughts my mind voiced,

“If not for the rain, anyone would think you were crying, isn’t that true?”

So, with a babbling mind and a pair of pungent rubber shoes

I approached my destination

“Oh! How lovely would it be to meet him again!” My heart would cruise

As I walked with feelings of delight and adoration.

And soon enough I reached him

Knocked on the door, like every other time

Waited, but the longer he took, the more my happiness would dim.

I knocked once more, and once more and once more; so many times that happiness turned so fragile, it became sublime.

In a frenzy, I picked up the flower pot on the patio

Rummaged under it till my fingers touched the key

With shaky hands, I inserted the key into the keyhole as my fear grew

And as soon the door unlocked, I swiftly made my entry.

And as I entered, my eyes fixated

On the horrific sight before me

His eyes were listless and dull and his body could only make movements limited

As I saw the God of Death embrace him, taking him away from the mortal world for all eternity.

I couldn’t believe my eyes

I fell to the floor on my knees

First I felt numb, like someone had buried me in ice

Or my senses had completely shut off, like I had contracted some deadly disease.

But then the realisation hit

And before I knew it, my eyes opened their floodgate

Tears and more tears poured as I sat on the floor with my teeth grit

And the bouts of hysteria shook me as I cursed the outcome of my fate.

As more tears fell and my sobbing got louder

My surroundings started getting dark

And before I knew what was happening, I felt my eyes turning tender

And somehow, physical exhaustion started receding its mark.

And when everything went pitch black

I was jolted out of my slumber

And as a matter of habit I turned over as my nightmare managed to end and cut me some slack

And right when I was about to call him to comfort me, the realization struck me like a bolt of thunder.

He wasn’t here, and he would never be

The disease out there- Covid 19- it had taken him

It had taken him to the depths of the known worldly order and away from me

But no, it wasn’t Covid 19 after all, but Thanatos himself who took him, as a disease could not take away the life of so many by itself.

And as I sit on my bed tonight

With my knees pulled to my chest and darkness around

I tell you how real and horrifying the virus is that is in our sight

With only one thought in mind- is it so difficult for those who are still away from the grasp of Thanatos to stay safe inside, or is it easier for them to let them incurable loss surround?

And this question constantly echoes in my mind like a constant grind

As I lie awake at night with at the back of mind this whispering voice

And consuming paranoia a space in my mind will always find

As I ask myself- in the name of toxic freedom and senseless independence, are the people in this world making the right choice?