When she woke up that morning, she turned on the Radio. She had been feeling unwell for several days and was plagued by a persistent cough and a severe headache. She made herself a cup of tea while gently stroking her cat's head and then sat down at her computer to start working as work-from-home writer, which was very convenient given her unexpected cold. Her writing was abruptly interrupted, however, when an alarming announcement came from the radio speakers: "A curfew is in effect until further notice. We urge you to stay indoors." Startled, she turned up the volume as she frantically searched for an explanation. "Was that a call to stay at home because of a war?" She asked herself anxiously as she scanned various radio stations for more information. Finding none, she quickly turned to her trusty friend, her computer, and did a Google search. The revelations she came across made her disbelieve what she found, a discovery of a new, unknown virus.
The days of lockdown dragged on for months, and the curfew continued to be strictly enforced, leaving her practically locked in her flat. Fortunately, she had enough supplies to support herself as a single woman in her fifties working from home, and her cat. Her only respite, apart from her little hairy companion, was her small balcony on the third floor. It overlooked a small park with a single wooden bench. It was a hidden refuge where people sought solace from prying eyes and observation by informants during the strict curfew. The bench was their only sanctuary where they could sit down, breathe in the fresh air and escape the confinement of their crammed homes, and their domestic quarrels, and for some it even helped them escape the constant bickering of their young children.
Every day she sat on her balcony overlooking the bench, the source of her daily intrigues and the various stories she plotted in her head about its guests. This little haven welcomed a variety of visitors of different ages and genders. Some days when she sat there, she could get a whiff of the unmistakable smell of cannabis wafting in the air from the teenagers. On other days she heard tearful women sitting alone and talking on the phone, some of them loud and angry. She also saw despondent men with their briefcases, smoking their cigarettes and sometimes working on their computers, but she never saw old people or children. No children's laughter in the air, no loud giggles, no play echoed around that bench for a long time, "How long has it been since that awful announcement now? 8 months?" she thought. But what amused her most was the 'Suits Couple' as she called them. She could assume that they did not live together but were driven by a strong passion for each other. Every day at the same time, at 5 pm, they made their way to the bench, probably after work. They routinely sat on it, each at one end, without physical contact or tender gestures, but they talked and talked, endlessly. Their words were overshadowed by an unspoken desire that hung in the air, suppressed by the restrictions imposed by the new virus that forbade any form of touching between people, anywhere.
Months later, as the virus gradually lost its power, a new hope was in the air. It was announced on the radio that the strict curfew had been lifted and people could cautiously regain their public freedom. With a mixture of fear and relief, she could see the regulars of the bench finally sitting close together again, some were even hugging one another. That afternoon she saw the Suits Couple downstairs sitting in their favourite spot, hand in hand and smiling with joy. "Ah! Now that the virus is finally behind us, those two can be together without fear or inhibition," she said to her cat.
Seeing this, she could not help but feel optimistic about the future. Her daily observation and plotted stories of people over the last months had shown her how strong the human spirit is and how resilient love is. Somehow this pernicious virus awakened some sense of deep appreciation for the human connections we have with each other. Then, smiling, she looked at the little bench and thought, "This bench that once embodied longing and restraint now symbolises triumph over adversity." She got up and told her cat that it was time to sleep and look for another day of freedom tomorrow.