do that. What if one of them has the virus? What if they get sick and their air travels under Katherine’s door and infects her? What if? --- No. No more thoughts. They are just hugging because they want to. Maybe they miss each other. She doesn’t need to be scared of other people hugging. Physical contact is natural. Her phone starts going off, and it’s her mom. She’s on her way to the house. Katherine stills herself. Her mom is going to have to come into the house. Her air will be mixed with the outside air, which may or may not have the virus in it. This means her outside air will mingle with the house air. That means Katherine could be at risk of getting the virus. Katherine’s eyes widen. Does that mean her mom can’t come into the house? Her mom has to come into the house. She sees the car park in front of the house. What does she do when her mom opens the door? Does she hug her and pretend that there isn’t a virus floating around? Or does she force her mom to shower before she gives her a hug? Can she even be near her mother anymore? Her thoughts are interrupted as the door opens. Her mother looks tired. She gives a small wave before excusing herself to the bathroom. Katherine hears the water turn on. She keeps listening until she hears the water go off. She gets up and puts her phone on the charger. Then she goes into the kitchen to drink a cup of water. She doesn’t want to think about her mom having a virus in her air space. She starts to fill her cup again when her mom yells her name. When Katherine makes it to her mother’s room, her mother holds open her arms. Katherine takes a step back before smiling and hugging her mom. It's okay to hug her mom.
almost all of her family is at risk. Then she would start thinking about if/whether her family will survive during quarantine, which seems impossible. Some of her family have already had the virus, and a few of them have died. Her immediate family is also at risk. What would happen if they get it? What if she gets it and gives it to her family? What is the reason her family doesn’t survive the quarantine? What if she gives the virus to them? She can’t handle these thoughts, so she doesn’t think about her family. Those thoughts are illegal. She sees a car pass by and it reminds her of her mother’s car. Maybe she should call her mother and see how she's doing. Her mother just started her new job. She now has to leave the house a few times a week. She has to leave the house and hand out food to people in need. Which is nice, but her mom is also outside, which means she could get--- Nope. Katherine cannot think about that. Her mom is okay. She will be fine. Katherine looks at her phone. She’s been getting a lot of calls recently, most of them her fault. When her aunt told her that her uncle had the virus, Katherine called everyone she knew. She had to make sure everyone was okay, which she can thank the quarantine for. She didn’t keep in touch with people as much as she wanted to. Now she has all the time in the world, so she talks to as many people as she can. Which isn’t the same as talking to them face to face, but it will do for now. It has to be enough. Katherine misses her friends. She wants to see their faces and give them a lot of hugs. It has only been, like, two months, but it feels as if it has been years since she has seen them. She used to make fun of people who said things like that. All those movies and shows about long-distance relationships are making a lot of sense now. Katherine smiles. Those people aren’t idiots. It is amazing to see people you care about and hug them. Not being able to see them sucks. Maybe she should watch a movie later today. Or binge-watch a TV show. Maybe call her friends and tell them about the mailman being scared of the cough. Anything that will get her away from the window. Two people walk up to each other and hug. It isn’t even an emotional hug, but they are touching. People can’t
Rayelle is a member of the National Honor Society and plans to be a playwright. Attends Bard College, NY
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I BelongMagazine.com, Autumn 2020. All rights reserved. Published by Unified Efforts, Inc., Baltimore, MD, https://unifiedefforts.org
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