It was a beautiful morning when Arthur spotted, through his big glass door, a deer. Right there, lying down in his backyard; a young brown deer.
It had been a while since Arthur had seen another living being so close. Being in the risk group, he and his wife would receive the groceries in their doorsteps through no-contact delivery. Friends, children, and grandchildren would interact via skype only.
"Look, Martha! A deer!", he said giddy with excitement, turning to his wife in the living room.
"Oh, let me see! I heard several wild animals are walking around the city now that people are confined at--... haha real funny, smart pants", said Martha to a confused Arthur looking at nothing.
"N-no. It was right there!", Arthur pleaded embarrassed.
"Do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, dear?"
He said yes, intrigued, looking at the empty green grass field.
The next day, Arthur woke up and the deer was there. Now, together with a sheep.
"See?! I told you! There's the deer!", Arthur said victoriously and relieved.
"And a sheep!", replied a dumbfounded Martha by his side.
"Quick, get the camera!", said Arthur turning to Martha swiftly.
But as soon as he turned back to the yard, both the deer and the sheep had gone.
The day after, the deer was back; this time with a peacock.
"Now look at that! A peacock?!", said Martha while churning jelly on her sandwich.
Knowing better, this time Arthur didn't look away. His eyes got so enamored by the scrumptious mix of colors in the peacock's feathers, that when he went to check the dear... it was no longer there. His head quickly returned towards the peacock's direction; it was also gone.
On the next day, Arthur grabbed a chair, sat in front of the glass door, and stood watch for the animals. His eyes scanned the backyard thoroughly, longing for their appearance. But it never came.
The next day, Arthur left a camera recording the dead landscape, with no life form other than the grass and the bushes. No animal came. Arthur sighed with resentment.
The day after, the deer came alone. And it looked so much older and worn, that Arthur thought it was a new, elder, deer. But it was the exact same.
Filled with surprise and excitement, Arthur locked eyes with the deer. Decided not to blink and miss the moment, he stood in a staring competition for minutes that felt like hours. No thoughts ran through his mind. But when Arthur finally blinked, it was like waking up from a little nap. His body felt rested, his stomach asked for food, and the deer was not there.
The next day, the deer came alone.
The day after, the deer came alone.
The day after that, the deer came alone again.
"Hey, look! The deer is back!", said a happy Martha to Arthur, who was opening the fridge to get peanut butter and jelly to make a sandwich.
Uninterested to a point he didn't even turn his back to the glass door to admire nature's spectacle, Arthur replied:
"No. It was there the whole time."
YOU ARE READING
RONA, a short story anthology about the global COVID-19 pandemic
Kısa HikayeA jail, a dear, a homeless, a lighthouse and a sonar... all of that and more amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic. RONA is a short story anthology by up-and-coming writer sensation Athens Wrigley. Written during quarantine, RONA brings Wrigley's tra...
