I usually sit on one end of the shorter side, while my wife occupies the opposite side. We do normal office work as if we were working in our regular offices. Unbearably, the first few days are chaotic; my wife is talking to a colleague on the phone while I am doing the same thing. On the sofa, the children are having Zoom conferences with their teachers. Our voices overlap, each other’s voices rising as if competing for dominance. Yet we adjust over a week and manage the chaotic traffic in the living room very well. The walls of the living-dining area are painted off-white and have two big windows. Below the windows is a long shelf where I stock my book collection. The living- dining area is our favorite spot to work in because it is where the internet switch is fixed. Each of us needs a strong internet connection for our online activities. The pandemic has brought everybody home and doing business is only possible via the internet. April 5, 2020 My youngest child asks me to go to a barbershop to trim his hair. He is 11 years old. I remember when I was the same age, my father used to take me to the barbershop only on Sundays. A coincidence? It was a lively atmosphere, I recall. Scissors snipping away hair as the incessant chatter of words blended to form an almost musical melody. I would sit in the chair, swiveling around as I waited for my turn, listening to the cacophony of sounds as I watched myself in motion, my image multiplied by all of the mirrors. I am brought back to the present when my son pulls my arms and asks again. No, I tell him. He stubbornly pouts. I try to explain that the municipality has closed all non-essential shops and that includes the barbershop. I share my memories with him in a story-like manner because I am still in a state of dreaming. He listens to me and is amused as I narrate the events of so long ago. When the story is over, my son’s hair still needs a trim. I go out and buy a hair trimmer. The living-dining area turns into a barbershop on that Sunday. I sit my son down on a high stool with an apron tied around
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