Isolation
Once the door was closed, the excitement bubbling in her came out in the form of tears, anxious but hopeful. She set the case onto the coffee table before clumsily opening her hazmat suit while staggering into her bedroom. There was no time to waste. With only a brief thought, she took out the pink baju kurung which she had reserved for her best days. Today was one of them. Wiping her tears, she attempted to put on makeup while shivering in anticipation. Her mascara had smudged slightly but she was too impatient to care. She opened the glass case from the living room, revealing a cylindrical chip the size of her thumb. There was no need for instructions as she had spent countless hours studying this device when its prototype was launched. She squeezed the chip twice and a vertical beam of light escaped, momentarily blinding her. But when she opened her eyes, there standing in front of her in her living room were her parents, their arms wide open and eyes brimming with tears. Without hesitation, she jumped onto their holograms, and they caught her. Instead of distant worried gazes on a polished screen for years, she finally felt their comforting embrace as though they were with her. The hug broke apart as her lungs caved in and she fell into a coughing fit. A reassuring hand warmed her shoulder. No immediate cure, but a reason to live on.
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