Antiquarantine

On 29th May, my uncle called my cousin to check on her. She said she’d generally been unwell. The following day, she and her roommate took a covid test. They turned out both positive.

The segregation! Quickly, on her arrival home with her university roommate who she had contracted it with, the two were shifted into the evacuated visitors’ room. The following days were characterised with walls in and out, as the out drew close (the second lockdown) the in were already high up (visitors’ room restrictions)

The fear! It was dreadful the next couple of days. Covid had never come so close to home. The second wave they call it, and many have lost friends & family sadly. My cousin and her friend were never allowed to mix with us. At some point they hadn’t seen the sun eye to eye. Prayers we lifted, beyond the local herbing and steaming!

The costs! My uncle was spending a lot. One time she came back home and one boy cousin wasn’t! His anger spilled on everyone else. ‘Don’t move!’ He said, ‘The problem isn’t freedom restriction. It is the expenses that come with buying all manner of drugs!’

The trauma! Midnight it was, when my aunty came knocking hard on my door. ‘Your aunty isn’t well. She’s struggling to breathe!’ We rushed to pray in the sitting room. My aunty’s sister from a different district had just been ambulanced to the hospital. My mom went on to check on her the following day since they were in the same district.

She too was unwell, but her fever we immediately dubbed covid. It’s like there was only one disease now. No harm came to them and my aunty was negative. We came to a conclusion that it was only mental.

The recovery! Four days after, my cousin began frequenting the outside. All students had been sent back from school now and other cousins had returned. One of them fell ill. Languid and bloodshot eyes. Immediately; he was isolated! My girl cousin thought herself to blame. Guilt was eating her up!

Antiquarantine! Regardless, more energy the lass got! She got over the negative vibes. She kept positive. Her roommate’s family came and took her roomie away. The loneliness she fought by watching movies. She decided to start watching the big TV with the rest of the family. Heck, she began eating with us on day 8. All the jokes we made about her she equally enjoyed.

She was perfectly healed, but my uncle didn’t want to take chances. Around day 14, a test was taken. Both cousins were negative! The joy was like throwing that mask off her mouth like one throwing a cap high on graduation!

She was back to stay with the rest of the girls in the girls’ room. Oh she’d never felt much joy! In all this, one thing I observed in my sister was staying positive all through from day one. From the shocking news, to the fear of contaminating others, to yearning for normalcy, to braving loneliness, she created joy by watching memes, and keeping positive

That keeping positive is HOPE. Hope to see tomorrow. Hope to get off oxygen. Hope to return to school soon and marry some day. That hope is what many have let go of, resulting into loss of faith…

But we’ve just seen what hope can do! Revive is what it can! I dare say to you, ‘hope again!’