Pestilence at nineteen

Ten

May 25 , 2020. Italy.

The lockdown in Italy was a rather unanticipated procedure , this was so because after China , Italy scaled high on the pandemic influx. From Cities to town , from town to streets , it was all too intense. Bologna , Venice (Venezia) , Florence (Firenze) and even Rome! felt the impact. Somewhere in Turin was Joan and C.A.D.O.C team and of course Jason who was always with her. It was a good thing he spoke Latin fluently , although she didn't know how or where he learnt it from , she felt satisfied with the fact that she was equipped for this daunting quest. It was a sad turn out of event for her mostly because she had planned to visit the National central library in Florence and Rome , she still nurtured the idea of calling on others in Bari , Milan , Naples , Palermo and Venice or The Vatican to see collections of early manuscripts , but that was vague now , the unheralded pandemic had altered so many plans. Even agitations were slow because of the break in movement and mobilization.
Since they couldn't move about to get the people sensitized , the coterie organized a new strategical mode of conveyance , they contacted some reliable journalists in Milan which had the largest newspaper circulation of 500,000 through their paper called Corriere della Sera. This was more preferable since Turin wasn't far from Milan , once they opted for Rome since it was the country's capital , but Rome was very far from Turin and their largest newspaper circulation was on sports the Corriere dello Sport. The achievements were little compared to what would have been achieved if it were through person to person conversation and gathering , or conferencing. This unproductivity made her sad and in most cases , Jason always encouraged her. It wasn't entirely bad for her , she had to hang out with her friends like her Dad had instructed and he was right , seeing their faces : Jason , Shekodran , Rosa , Amanda , Rebecca , Hafiz - yes Hafiz! the Prince in Al Aziziyah , she had gotten fond of him too , his smugness and dry jokes and of course his funny looking hat.
One of the best moments she enjoyed was the meals the Italians prepared , during their stay in Turin they had hired a pro tem cook , who gave them the best of dishes , pasta , in form of spaghetti , macaroni , ravioli , lasagne and vermicelli. She always smelt the pizzas, butter , olive oil and tomatoes often used in the Italian cooking , sometimes she helped herself with some prosciuttoes and minestrone , the sensation and savoury was just too intense.
She always had the urge to kiss Jason sometimes but the fear of the virus kept her in close check. Sometimes when the ladies were busy orchestrating means of penetration to the environs , she found herself checking the Male quarters just so she could find him , and she always did for their eyes caught each other each time. She smiled because she knew he felt as restless as she did.
Sometimes she thought of home , Nigeria. She wondered if she would see the country again , it's greener pastures and it's palaver , she missed the dishes and it's raw urgency. As it was , she was stuck here in Italy , for there was no aviation whatsoever. Sometimes she wrote poems on her youthful age in Nigeria , she felt alone most of the times but not completely alone , because Jason and the guys made there stay worthwhile. Sometimes she thought of her father , who is this Nissis that gave him so much hope and joy that he even goes to church? what would he say if she told him she was scared of the virus and the rate by which it killed people here in Italy ? She would survive! she heaved.