2020-When Time Stood Still

Chapter Six-Turkey Room 350

Chapter Six

Turkey:Room 350

I sit gazing out the hotel window, a cold, bleak grey March day. It's eerily quiet. The skies are empty. In another place, another time, this would not be unusual except here I was sat close to one of the world's busiest airports. It's that feeling again washing over me, that feeling of bleakness.

I yearn for a hint of sunshine, a splash of color. Even the hotel room walls are painted grey for fuck's sake. The room is not bad, clean, modern, basic but grey. I'm zapping. Channel to channel. Nothing but mindless drivel reality shows: From vertically challenged females beating each other up in LA to surgically enhanced males and females sniping at each other in Ascot. Am I one of the few females left over forty in the West who has not yet succumbed to the cosmetic surgeon's knife?

I looked at myself in the mirror; let us say the face staring back was not looking at its best. Dark rings under my eyes, disheveled hair, and a sallow complexion. Where the hell had my tan disappeared to? And where had those frown lines come from? Jesus, it looked as if I'd aged 30 years in a matter of days. Still, not surprising with no sleep and so much stress.

I really am reaching rock bottom. I'm so shattered from over 26 hours of no sleep that I can barely keep awake but every time I close my eyes I'm met with a barrage of vivid stressful images and what ifs. I don't know how much more I can take. What's going to happen to us? I cough and I cough. Dry raking cough. My throat is on fire. My ears are on fire. The pain is excruciating. My skull feels like it's being caved in with a sledgehammer. No fever, thank God.

I'm concerned though. Not all symptoms are the same: Indeed, some people who are carriers are asymptomatic, we've been told. We have followed the 'protocol'. The hand cleaning, the gloves and masks, the immune boosters. Been alert, watchful, but if I had the damn virus they would not let me leave the country...

Once again, I'd been right; the journey was long and extremely stressful and was far from over. Effie's symptoms had got worse combined with fatigue, the stuffy dry air on the plane and the overall stress of the situation. The fear from the passengers was palpable, each time Effie coughed it felt as if every passenger stiffened in alarm, not to mention shoot us both concerned and angry looks.

She was wearing a mask, as was I. I'd brought tea tree oil for gargling and placing up my nostrils on cotton wool. I had always done this while flying and very rarely got ill afterwards, unlike many.

Effie really was not well and while I was aware that every other virus and disease on the planet was still present, and she could be infected with any number of things, such was the level of fear and paranoia around us that any form of logic was currently redundant.

In everyone else's minds, there was only ONE virus and that was the ONLY thing to be concerned about. I just wanted my daughter well and safe and that also meant being as far away from crippling fear and paranoia as possible-a dangerous and explosive combination particularly when combined with ignorance and war.

Back on the plane, the air hostess had paused by my seat, "It's just been confirmed that if we suspect any passenger has symptoms of the virus they must fill out an official form and see a doctor at the airport. If it is believed they have the virus they will be placed in quarantine and not permitted to leave the country. I'm really sorry." Fortunately, Effie was sleeping and completely unaware of what was being said.

I was genuinely frightened now. "Jesus! This is worse than I thought. I don't want to be trapped in Turkey with my daughter particularly with the threat of World War Three going on! Surely the embassy can do something?" I asked.