Good morning Suburbia, 2025
Elizabeth woke up to... What? She stared at the clock.
5 am. Dawn was beginning to break. The alarm though, wouldn't go off for another hour and the blackout curtains blocked any light.
She breathed. She listened. She heard the pitter patter of small feet. Aerosol sounds. Outside. She stiffened.
The firecrackers and the sound of flames startled her, but not as much as they would have, had she not heard those footsteps. She threw open the drapes, noting the three preteens in white-clad capes and hoods chanting on her lawn.
She listened to the childish voices chanting, "death to the lesbian witch!!! Pray for her soul!".
So soon? Again? She sighed. She took a deep breath and opened the window. "K.K.Kids! Get off of my lawn! And put your damn N95s on, there’s a brand new novel virus going 'round! I can tell you’re not wearing them!
Phil, I am calling your mother!"
One boy flashed devil horns before whipping it out to pee on her lawn. "Raoul! Is that you!?? Why are you hanging around these stupid morons anyway??? I’m calling your mom too!"
The boys ran off, and she sighed deeply. Again.
"Alexa, call Karen."
"Dialing Karen"
"Hello?"
"Karen, I'm sorry to be calling you so early again, but Phil is lighting crosses on my lawn and chanting. Again. Also, neither he nor his little friends are wearing their masks. There's a new-"
Karen cut her off. "I'll speak to him. You know kids.. always running off without their masks"
"And burning crosses... Right. Look, can you talk to him about-"
"I SAID I'LL speak to him. Thanks for calling, Lez. I mean, Liz." She hung up.
Elizabeth sighed again, to the depths of her soul. "Alexa, call Luciana"
"Calling Luciana"
"Hello?"
"Luciana, this is Elizabeth."
"Oh hi, Elizabeth!"
"Hi, listen, I'm sorry to call at such an ungodly hour"
"Oh no, it's fine! I was already up!"
"Great. Listen, Raoul was hanging around with Phil again this morning..."
"What?! After I've told him!"
"Okay, yes, and burning a cross again.. "
"Chica, you know I don't sanction that here"
"I know... and none of the boys were wearing their masks."
"I will talk to him about being disrespectful. I am so sorry, Liz."
"And the mask, Luciana... There's a new virus..."
"Oh I know, Liz. There's always a new virus. I don't always make him wear it. They're so uncomfortable, you know?"
"Okay, I know. But around others, not household members... He's got to. I mean, I know the hood protects him."
Jesus Christ, what am I saying? She thought. Am I sanctioning the damn costume??
"He was in that shit again??? When I see him!"
"Nevermind, Luciana, just make sure he wears it when he’s...” Her mouth felt dry. "PLAYING with his friends."
"Those boys are NOT his friends!". Luciana snapped. "I will talk to him. Have a good day, Liz."
Elizabeth sighed deeply, once more. “someday I will turn into a sigh”, she thought.
"Alexa, sprinklers."
"I don't understand."
"Alexa turn on the front yard sprinklers"
"I'm sorry. I didn't get that."
"Fucking front yard sprinklers! Extinguish the damn cross!"
"Language alert! Hate speech will result in a temporary ban from all information services!"
"Alexa! Every. Other. Goddamn. Wednesday. We go through this! Turn on. the. FUCKING. Sprinklers. And. Extinguish. The burning cross. On. My. Lawn."
"Religious hate speech detected! You are banned from information services for 3.5 hours. May I suggest some meditation music while you recenter?"
"Alexa, fuck right the hell off!"
"Further hate speech detected. Shutting down. Internet access denied. Your employer has been notified that you have been temporarily banned."
Elizabeth sighed the deepest sigh yet.
Then she got dressed and calmly went out, grabbed the hose, and extinguished the cross.
She followed it up with a shower and coffee, noting the all too common yet eery silence of a non-smart home.
Somewhat forlornly, she got out the supplies to spray over the graffitied block letter "DYKE" on the side of her home, including her trusty, if slightly dirty, government-issued N95 mask.
She remembered, fondly, the days when she did not keep bulk paint in the color of her house, didn't even own a sprayer. Never wore a mask. Those were the days. She needed more trim brushes.
Finally prepped, she headed out to paint over the graffiti. She wondered how much thicker her walls had become with the once or twice a month spraying.
She felt a tiny tug on her sleeve and started to unclip her sidearm, also government-issued. But, no, the tug was non-aggressive, tentative.
She hazarded a glance. Raoul, pants zipped, fully masked, with no costume, just jeans and a t-shirt, stood beside her.
"Miss Liz? My mom said I had to come help you clean up and that I had to wear my mask. I'm sorry I peed on your lawn. What do I do?"
There's hope. Elizabeth thought. Small as it is, hope can grow. "Thanks, Raoul. I'm going to load this sprayer with the paint, and then you can spray it over the letters, kinda fun huh? Like a BIG eraser."
Raoul smiled shyly. Elizabeth sighed again, but this time, there was relief in the sigh. 'small hope. Fierce, fierce, small hope. I'll take it.' she thought, as she loaded the sprayer. 'I. Will. Take. It.'
