Memory

1 - Beginning Of An End

"Attention students and staff, this is Mr. Law speaking." The principal of the school came on the intercom. Memory was sitting in her history class next to her two best friends, Devin and Zac. Memory looked at them with a confused look, but they looked just as bewildered as she did.

"I apologize for the late notice, but I have just been informed that we are extending Spring Break for another two weeks. There is nothing to be concerned about right now. We just want to make sure that everyone is safe during the break."

Everyone in the class started chatting excitedly and burst into discussing plans for the extended vacation ahead of them. Some were going on vacation during the break, and others were just happy to get some long-awaited time off from school and away from hours of a seemingly endless workload. Our teacher, however, did not look excited. He looked worried and although at that moment Memory did not think about it much, she wished she had. She did not know what difficult and dark times lay ahead of her. What lay ahead of all of them.

It felt as if the last bell that marked the end of her class period could not come soon enough as Memory walked aboard her bus. The ride home felt long since none of her friends rode the same bus as her. Once she arrived at her house and stepped inside she found Daddy was cooking dinner in the kitchen like he always did, and tonight he was making his famous meatloaf. Yet, despite how much he enjoyed cooking meals for the family, he still had a worried glint in his eyes. She was reminded of the concerned look her teacher wore when the announcement of their extended break had been broadcasted across the school campus.

Mom sat on the sofa, most likely scrolling through Facebook as she mostly did when she waited for Daddy to finish up his cooking. The aroma of the meatloaf filled the house, and Memory wished her apprehension was not keeping her from enjoying that moment. Daddy always had the news on while he cooked, and today was no different. The headline on the news channel said "WHO Head Warns Worse of Virus Is Still Ahead." What virus are they talking about? Is this serious? Memory's heart began pounding harder with fear and her thoughts whirling through her mind like leaves in a whirlwind, but she tried not to show it on her face. She tried to give Mom a worried glance, but she did not even look up from her phone. So instead she went to her room and pretended not to think about it until it became true.

A few minutes later, Daddy was calling for dinner from the kitchen. Memory got up from her bed and went to eat supper with her family. As they all sat down at the table, Memory decided to ask her parents about this new virus the news was talking about.

Daddy showed no expression as he answered, his tone equally level. "Something new going around. Kind of like the flu, honestly, except worse. They are calling it the Coronavirus. It has been around for years, from my understanding, so I assume this must be a new strand."

Mom, on the other hand, had a worried expression. She tried to keep her voice calm as she spoke. "So there is no cure for it?"

Daddy shook his head in reply. Memory's fear grew larger still. She tried to hide it from her parents. It was bad enough that they were fearful themselves; they did not need to worry about their daughter on top of that. She wondered if that was where most of their fears did come from - worrying about the people they loved.

On March 11, 2020, just a few days into Memory's Spring Break, the president announced the country. Due to the spread of the Coronavirus, the country was shutting down and going into lockdown. Schools were closing and going virtual, most jobs started sending their workers to work from home, and the government was going to shut down. This meant that all "non-essential" services were stopped, while the essential services, such as fire, armed forces, air traffic controllers, would stay operational. The president also called for a nationwide mask mandate to help stop the spread of COVID-19 (that was the new, official name of the Coronavirus). This meant that you could not go into a store or a restaurant without wearing a mask that covered your nose and mouth.

Daddy and Mom kept Memory inside during the lockdown. She could not even go ride her bike to the park or see any of her friends. They went to work; she stayed home. Memory tried her best not to go stir crazy being stuck in the house every day. She stayed in touch with most of her friends, and even once in a while called Grandma to help her through it. They planned to watch a movie together every Sunday. Mom told Grandma that she did not want her to go anywhere just in case something happened, so Grandma stayed inside her house as Memory stayed in her's.

At first, Memory did not understand what her parents were doing. She would get so angry with them and rant about it in her head. It was not good for her to keep all that pent-up rage inside and not let it out. She did though, at a cost.

One day near the end of Spring Break, Devin called and asked Memory what was wrong with the world. Memory was usually a rock for most of her friends. If any of them had a problem, they would go to her and she would always try to help them through it. For once though, she could not respond to Devin. Instead, Memory was silent. How can I answer when I don't even know the answer myself? Memory thought to herself sadly.

"Memory, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm sorry, Devin. I don't know what to say to you. I don't know the answer to that." She felt bad for not being able to help her friend, but what else could she say?

"It's okay. Thanks anyway." And then she hung up the call. Memory looked at her phone in dismay. A single tear fell down her face.