Quarantined

Chapter 1

It is not that often that I am able to go on vacation to a venue such as this, let alone with other people who are not my parents. Oh, how they love to intrude upon every single aspect of my personal life, to "keep me safe", they claim. I guess it is true whenever people I know use the phrase "helicopter parent" to describe such behavior. Still, it is nice to have an "escape" from them for a while. But I am digressing. In terms of the location, it is quite the house, I should say, with an imposing air and a slight mansion-like feel. Chris claims that he inherited the grand establishment shortly after his aunt passed; that is, his parents are normally in charge of the upkeep, but since they are away on business, he thought it might do us some good to stay in it for the duration of our trip. I already feel a little unsettled the moment I walk through the large double doors. The initial blast of cold air shocked my core; even though I held a particular penchant for cold air, I was not used to it at this magnitude. After all three of us finish unpacking our belongings, I take the time to explore the house while Chris plans our first outing, which is to take place tomorrow.

I feel as if I could get easily lost while traversing a house of this size. It was almost like a maze, with confusing twists and turns, and numerous dead ends which led to nothing in particular. The sheer convolution of it all somewhat reminded me of mirror mazes; where you had to find the correct path to where you had to go, otherwise you would end up winding around in rather repetitious patterns. Chris had helped me to find my room earlier, and that is really the only room I know how to get to, and even then, I only know the route from the main lobby; not so much from everywhere else. On my walk, I enter the backyard garden, with simply delicious fruit-bearing plants and numerous greenhouses. There is also a small bench on the side, flanked by small, potted rose bushes. Feeling tired, I decide to sit down and take a breath, and with the warm, afternoon sun pouring on me, I begin wondering about my condition.

You see, I have not been outside in quite a while, admittedly of my own fault. I have not soaked in sunlight for so long, besides the occasional sunbeam or two that peers through my bedroom window, and I have barely associated with anyone over the past few months. My parents, as dutiful as they are, are usually very busy with their work. My mother is a nurse who works night shifts at the hospital, and sometimes stays later than usual if her patients' cases are serious. Thus, whenever she gets home in the mornings, she usually goes to sleep straightaway, only having the time to eat breakfast before doing so. When she wakes up in the evening, she prepares for her next shift, and the cycle repeats. 

My father, on the other hand, is a retired Navy worker who, to be honest, has never really seen much action on the field, from what I have heard. All he tells me is that he orders parts for the ship he works on, should it need maintenance to any extent. It sounds rather bland, but then again, I was never in his position. Maybe there is a sense of urgency associated with it that I do not understand. Regardless, he now spends his days relaxing back at my home on the couch in the living room, and occasionally working out. As I said before, both of them normally want to know everything about my life just to keep me safe, but thankfully they allowed me this one time to get away, provided I regularly text them every day, which, admittedly, I sometimes forget. 

I have made many friends at school, too, but most of them have stopped texting me as of late, depriving me that aspect of interaction as well. You are probably beginning to see my issue by now. I am mostly starved of social contact, I am starting to have severe stress issues, as well as fear and anxiety, due to the amount of work I normally have to put in for college, and subsequently, I do not sleep very well and I have not been outside. It also does not help that my grandfather passed away between my junior and senior year of high school, leaving an emotional scar on me that still has not fully healed (and I doubt it ever will be). Luckily, that all does not apply to me right now since it is summer, but the feelings still linger in the back of my mind, especially considering I shall have to go back to the same routine when the semester starts back up again. It is also worth noting that I am afraid to branch out and try to make new friends other than the ones I've already had, due to constant fears of rejection plaguing my psyche. 

All of this has been happening to me for quite some time now, even before this vacation. It has already started to take a toll on my mental health, but I shouldn't bother anyone else to let them know about it. My parents already do so much for me and I would not wish to inconvenience them further. Most of my friends have stopped texting me, so I should doubt they would listen. And I am meant to be a great help to Chris and Sam during the course of this trip, not a burden. So I shall leave it alone. In the midst of my thoughts, I hear Chris calling to me from the porch; he has decided on a destination. We are to go visit the nearby village tomorrow and see what sights, sounds, and other things it has to offer. After going inside, joining him and Sam for dinner, and watching television for a couple hours with them, everyone ventures off to bed for the night. Tomorrow will be a new day, I thought. 

I shall not let my illness get the best of me.