With One Touch

...

It was mid day on a friday in 2035, she was at home, stopping the spread of the Coronavirus. Everyone was in their homes since the beginning of the year 2020.

She spent her three final years of highschool suffering through the difficulties that Covid caused. The president was Donald Trump, more or less, a dictator. He had lost the election to Joe Biden and refused to leave power. 

She was now 31 years old, and yet Trump was still alive at age 89. She hoped that his reign of power would eventually end, although it felt like an impossible goal.

She was still quarantining, not self quarantining however. Donald Trump had a change in plans when Covid didn't disappear after 2020. He forced everyone to stay inside. He took their rights away, all except guns and religion (christianity) of course. 

The world had become grey and colorless. The people lived every day the same as the last. They would wake up when they needed to start their work duties, work for 16 hours a day at minimum wage (which had dropped to $3.25), and the cycle would repeat. Only few people were allowed to leave their houses, the government workers. 

These were the people that would make just enough food for no one to starve, but they remained malnourished. These were the people to make computers and drones to keep track of everyone. The computers were said to be beneficial for the people, however they were only used to brainwash people and to keep track of them. 

The people learned from the screens that everyone else in the world was still struggling with Covid. The people learned that their beloved government was doing everything it could to keep them safe. The people learned wrong.

They watched as the screens said everyone else was indoors too. They said that it was the safest thing to do. They said that the countries were still working with the US government to overcome Covid. 

When in reality, they weren't still inside their homes. They had been safe from Covid since late 2021. 

The other countries feared for the lives of the Americans. They saw the fake news. People were not allowed to enter or exit the US for the past 14 years. Anyone who was visiting the US around the time of the 2020 election, was never seen again. 

She was 31 years old, and she hadn't breathed the outside air in 14 years. She hadn't seen the trees. She hadn't seen people other than the occasional person who delivered the mere morsels of food for her and her family. All she had were memories.

However, the memories were vague. She couldn't remember much since she was only 16 years old when Covid took over her life.

These vague memories flashed through her head, brighter and brighter, as she cleaned out her closet. The memories started as little sparks, but the further she dug into her old things, the more they sparkled. 

She was looking through a bin marked 2020. With one touch, she grabbed a tripod and with it, came the memories. She remembered how she would record fun little videos to entertain herself while stuck at home. With one touch, she reached for her 2019-2020 yearbook, and was flooded with memories of when Covid first emerged. She remembered how everyone was excited, like it was a snow day. They were delighted to have just 2 weeks off. They were genuinely excited to go home. 

That all changed of course. After 1 month, they became a little worried. After 3 months, they were still somewhat enjoying their lives at home. But after 6 months, when summer began, they feared what might happen next. They went through the summer, hanging out occasionally, nothing big, but then the next school year began.
 
The cases had decreased a little, and the president lifted regulations. They went to school in person for 3 months and quarantined people when needed.

Then, they eventually switched to an every other day schedule. Which just put more pressure on the students. The teachers and parents didn't understand why they struggled. After just 9 months of Covid-19 existing, the students were drained. They had no motivation left and they were struggling in their heads. Now they needed to go to school for 7 hours or sit in an online call for 7 hours every other day? On top of that, they had hours of homework to do.

She shook her head free of the memories that were growing worse and worse. She steadied herself, realizing she had begun to hyperventilate. She dug further in the closet, and found a different bin.

She pulled out an old ps controller and with one touch, she remembered the games she used to play on video game consoles. She remembered playing Fortnite for 2 years with her friends, and then by herself. She remembered playing a whole summer, and missing one of her last chances at a real summer. 

She remembered further back, when she would play Minecraft, GTA V, LBP, and Skate 3 with her best friends all the way back in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. For a moment she felt sick to her stomach. It had been like 20 years.

She remembered the music she would hear in the years 2013 through 2016. She felt the joy in her veins. The childish innocence she had at that time. How she had no worries or sadnesses about anything more than spilled milk. 

Then she felt the sadness overtake her again. She felt that everlasting emptiness return to her.