Quarantined, after many months....A Story

Somewhere on the earth, in some country, unknown city, in a familiar living room, one evening, “COVID-19 is a kind of flu. It has same symptoms as other normal flues. The only reason why it is critical because we do not have any cure for this. But as a normal flu, one can have mild to severe symptoms. If you have good immune system, you do not need to worry about. This virus has mortality rate 2 to 2.25 %, so you do not need to get panic about this. Make sure you wash your hands, do not come close to any sick person, wear mask if you have any kind of symptoms and make yourself you are quarantined.” A middle-aged lady was answering question asked by anchor on TV in her British accent. Adil is sitting on couch and visually engrossed in TV but mutes himself with his headphone. In his short and hood, nodding his head with his hip hop song, which has little leak from his headphone, but his face is frowned and tensed. He calls “Mom”. Mom replies from kitchen “yes”. He repeats and shouts “Mom”. Sheeza walks towards him from kitchen and removes his head phone, “Adi” she says with a very firm tone. “What, don’t touch me, I told you so many times. It is not safe” he jumps out of couch and stands, throwing his head phone on table. Sheeza is shocked with his reaction but immediately a mother makes her balance and says “Adi, I am in the house from past one week, how I can infect you”. Adi squeezes sanitizer from the bottle which is placed on the side table and asks with a mild surprise “Daddy did not come last night too”. Sheeza moves towards side chair and settles herself in “No, it’s been three days. Every time I call him, he is not picking up phone. Sometime his nurses pick it, but same answer. He is busy with patients and he will call you back”. Adi shows his teenage anger, takes his head phone, puts it around his neck, picks up his phone, leaves living room with ignoring everything, as if nothing is concerned to him. Probably, both are going through same emotional arrest which is outcome of the confine what they are facing from almost a month. Sheeza puts her head relaxed on chair and slowly gazing in to TV “Make sure, you quarantine yourself. Make your travel and movement restricted. Call emergency service only if you need for hospital. Do not get panic”. Slowly Sheeza closes her eyes and slips in to sleep.

Doorbell is constantly ringing, Sheeza suddenly wakes up, quickly turn off the TV and approaches towards door. While peeping through door’s peephole, she opens the door. It is Asif who still has same blue suit in which he left three days back to the hospital on an emergency call. He had to rush to hospital just after reaching home attending a vaccine trial report review for a pharma company. This time, his tie is removed from his neck and placed in his coat’s pocket, bearded were little grown up but he has covered his face with mask. His red eyes look at Sheeza’s face through his glasses, that the only thing which look fresh and clean. Sheeza tries to take his bag from his hand but he sides it away and goes towards washroom. Sheeza closes the door and goes inside kitchen. Asif takes off his mask, throws in trash, turn on water, takes out his glasses, puts glasses under tab, removes his coat, throws in to laundry can, throws water on his face, removes water from his face and looks in to mirror, his stress was visible in his eyes. He comes out of washroom with shower and changed cloths and retires himself on sofa, turns on TV “50,000 more cases are positive in last 24 hours in the city. 1,434 of them are the medical staff of city hospital. Government has taken over the hotels and making them quarantine for the patients who needs medical help and affected with virus. Make yourself isolated and reside in your house if you find any symptom or discomfort. Do not need to get panic and rush to hospital. Please call emergency number and you would be handled accordingly”. Sheeza brings coffee and Asif takes from her hand and takes out one medicine and gulp with coffee sip. Turns off the TV and asks where is Adi”. Sheeza exhales “in his room, he is very disturbed and mad”, after a pause, she continues “I think he feels confined, he should have stayed in dorm with his friends, we should have not called him”. Asif “but” and suddenly he starts coughing as if his coffee went to his lungs. It becomes loud, then suddenly Adi comes out of his room “you got it, right. I told you. Your social service will kill all of us. There are thousands of doctors in the city, you are not the only one” his frustration was visible. Sheeza interrupts “Adi, behave”. “ok, tell me what should I do. I am in this house from past three months. I am not even stepped out of the door. All the parents are home taking care of their family, and dad..”. Asif in his husky tone “relax, if you want to go to your friends, go”. Adi turns back to his room “fine, I am going to Tina’s house tomorrow morning” and bangs his door. Asif looks at Sheeza astonishingly “what was that”. Sheeza signals with her hands to be calm. Asif stands up and moved to the bedroom and mild cough comes out of his room. Sheeza asks from living room, taking away coffee cup “Are you okay, do wanna eat something”. He replies “No, I just want to sleep”.

Morning, Adi is leaving, Asif is on dining table on phone, Sheeza is seeing Adi off. Asif “make sure fever is in control and body does not get dehydrated. Yes, yes I checked him before I left, he was getting better. Oh, .. no I was thinking to take rest today.. I will see, bye” he was talking someone from hospital and coughing intermittently. Asif asks Sheeza surprisingly, “why did he go”. She replies “that’s OK. He was bored. He will be fine at Tina’s house, they can study also.”. Asif ignores “I know, what study he would do”. “Hey, are they still giving deliveries”. She says “yes, we send them list and they deliver once in every 48 hours”. “Okay, can you make that spinach omelet, I am going to lie down for some more, still having headache “.

After few hours, Asif is vomiting in washroom and Sheeza is standing and patting his back. “I told you, don’t go to hospital, you never listen to me, tell me what I will do if something happens to you” Sheeza nervously repeating to him and giving him water glass. Asif manages to stand up and says “relax, nothing will happen” he continues “see, send the list of some medicines”. Sheeza says “tell me, I will go and get it”. “No, I saw, all shops are closed, you can only get online” Asif says. Sheeza worries “Oh, God, what will happen”.

Sheeza is sitting by Asif on the bed. Asif is lying and covered himself with blanket. She is using wet towel on his forehead. She is stressed. Asif keeps his eye close and coughs in between. Suddenly, sound comes, as someone throws something on the door. Sheeza goes to door, peeps outside, no one is there. She opens the door; a delivery box is there. She looks around, there is no sign of human as far as her eyes can see, all doors are closed. She pushes box inside with her feet, takes out spray sanitizer and spray on the box. She brings medicine and water to Asif and gives to him. He manages to sit, she supports him and he swallows some medicines and then slowly falls on the bed and gets cough attack. Sheeza comes out of the room and calls Adi, “Adi, where are you, come home”. Adi says, “what happened”. She says, “Your dad is sick, he has fever and cough”. Adi starts shouting with panic tone “I told you, he will make all of us sick. Do one thing, call his hospital and ask them to take care of him” then he makes his tone down and continues “see, if he has virus, then all of us will be sick. I will stay here. You please call emergency, bye”.

Sheeza goes to the bed and slowly tries to wake Asif up, he opens his eyes, she passes his phone to him and asks “Please call your hospital. I just called emergency number, they are just asking to quarantine. They are saying, they would come if there is health emergency, fever and cough are normal, I don’t know what to do”. Asif takes phone in his hand, looks in to phone with squeezing his eyes, dials a number, it starts ringing but again he blasted with cough, he passes phone to Sheeza, a lady nurse responds from other side “hello Sir”, Sheeza says “I am Dr. Asif’s wife”. “Yes Mam” She responds”. “Asif is very sick, he has fever and cough, can you please send someone to take him to hospital” she requests. Nurse replies “Mam, there is no bed in the hospital and they are letting anyone come here. Lot of critical patients are in waiting list. I will do one thing, I will ask Dr. if we can send someone to collect his sample to run test, to make sure it is virus or not”. Sheeza insists “but he is not well, it is getting bad”. “Don’t worry mam, make sure he has lot of water and be quarantined” she puts the phone.

Sheeza is walking in the living room fast and dialing her phone again and again, after many attempts someone picks up the phone, she says “hey, Aman, this is Sheeza here” “Asif is very, I am calling emergency number, they are saying we are in wait list, asking to get Virus tested first. I called hospital, they said someone will come take sample, none has come yet, I do not know what to do” “OK. Please, please’ phone disconnects. Sheeza goes to Asif and gives him medicine and water, he shows his hand says, later and coughs and turns his side.

Sheeza is sleeping by Asif, she wakes up, opens her eyes, looks at Asif, he is calm and seems in sleep, Sheeza pulls his blanket and covers his hand and till neck, touches his forehead, she finds okay, she puts one hand on his chest and looking at him and closes her eyes slowly. Window curtain was open, it was late morning, sun came on her face, she opens her eyes and removing hand from Asif and trying to shake her own eye, gets down from the bed, closes curtain and says “Asif “, while closing curtain, she turns her head towards Asif who is still in deep sleep and unmoved. She walks towards Asif and puts his hanging had back to his chest, but she does not notice any movement. She touches his chest and says “Asif, Asif.. Asif” she shakes his face “Asif”, she is shocked, numbed, puts both the hands on her mouth, taking herself back, tears pondering from eyes, her back feels the wall, she slides on the wall and falls on the ground, she screams. Immediately she stands up and runs towards door, and opens the door latch and but before she tries to open the door, she becomes frozen and numb, only one thing was moving was the tears from her eyes. Slowly she pushes the door to close, closes door latch, turns her back to the door. We could still see, she was inching towards Asif, slowly. There was no cry, there was no cough, there was no scream, there was no panic, just a silence of quarantine. She crawls in to the bed, sleeps by Asif, puts her hand on his chest.

One package is thrown out of the door. A cough sound is coming out of the door. Next package also arrives, first package is still not picked, delivery boy looks at it strangely, but he leaves. Next packages, this time he approaches towards door, thinking of knocking the door, but he ignores, throws package at the door and leaves.