2049
Three decades since the virus changed the world…
I was staring at the moon, with my face as close to the window. That celestial body is my favorite. It’s still there wherever I may be.
In my peripheral view, I think I saw someone come in. There was a little mumbling sound too. I just didn’t mind her voice. I was too caught in a trance.
“Hey, papa! I said what it’s like to live through a pandemic?” My daughter interrupted my thoughts. I was totally zoning out.
“Sorry, dear. Just a loaded question right there. Haha! Why ask papa?” It was not a question a nine-year-old, or anybody her age, would ever think of, all the more that it’s been around three decades since it started.
“My teacher mentioned it in science class so…” She shrugged.
“Oh okay. Hmm.” I was finding the right words to describe it. Could I even? So many things were racing through my head. “Let’s just say COVID-19 changed the world as we know it.”
“Changed how?” She tilted her head a little bit, a clear sign of curiosity.
“Well, for one, that suit you’re wearing? The Federation first made its prototype in the fifth year of the pandemic — when we are no longer dealing with just COVID-19.” I was pointing at the synthetic fabric we are both wearing, with layer after layer of spandex material. I paused for a bit just to check if my daughter would ask what ‘prototype’ is. In my head, I was laughing because what I was about to share is something a little child cannot comprehend.
“By the time the virus started mutating and developing new variants, more and more people started getting sick. Places called ‘countries’ started blaming one another, hating each other. That’s when things escalated. Humanity was so divided! The vaccinated and the anti-vaxxers! Those who sided with the bald eagle and the ones who chose the red dragon! Fear was looming all over us!” I said all of that with my hand movements being so theatrical; I was talking so fast like there were no periods in my sentences.
“And as history has shown, humans tend to do crazy things when afraid. Everybody had their own version of the truth to believe in. Yeah, the virus mutated but humans turned into something worse. Eventually, nuclear — ” I cut my sentence short when I remember I was speaking to a little girl. A very unamused one, that is. She was silent.
“Humanity no longer faced just a global pandemic but a World War as well…” I started using my spooky voice; it’s as if I am sharing a horror bedtime story.
“Uhmm…oh okay.” She had a confused look on her face, her eyes looking sideways. Obviously, my daughter didn’t get any of the word-vomit I did. Maybe I intentionally did that. Maybe for catharsis. Maybe I just needed to remind myself that THAT really happened. But she just can’t wrap her innocent mind around something so…distant.
I sighed and then smiled. “But okay, if there’s anything you should remember from that pandemic-turned-Earth warfare…it’s that, at that time, humanity also had this one thing that saved all of us. It reminded us to carry on, to not stop, to continue living.” I leaned closer into her, put her on my lap, wrapping my arms around her, our bodysuits ruffling.
“What is that, papa?”
“Perseverance. That gave way to life here on Mars.”
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Andrew Beso is a Manila-based content creator who is exploring different ways of sharing art — whether it be written, spoken, and visualized. Aside from being in Medium, his work can also be seen on Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok.
He is using his undergraduate and master’s degree in Economics and Political Economy, respectively, in discussing social issues through creative expressions.
