Endless Tales of Corona - 2

Chapter 2: Fear Looms Over Hope

                                                                                      By Vimal P Thomas

They waited all day for the inhabitants to return. Hours went by. Matthew started to show symptoms of fever. Nikhil placed his palm on Matthew’s forehead. It was burning.

“Lie down. Sleep.” He said.

Matthew lay down on the ground, with his head resting on Nikhil’s legs. He soon slipped into sleep.

Nikhil gazed into the wilderness. He had always been thirsty for adventure. From exploring deep forests to climbing steep mountains, he and Matthew had had quite a lot of memories together. Matthew too shared this fondness for adventure and thrill. However, this time, when Nikhil had come up with the idea of a night out at the sea on a fishing boat, Matthew had been a little hesitant.

“Not this time. Can we think of something else?” he had asked.

“Why? Are you scared Mat?! Haha… Come on Mat…”

Matthew had budged to his mate’s persuasion.

And here they were, in an unknown land, with uncertainty looming over their heads. Nikhil felt responsible for this plight of theirs. Tear drops ran down his cheeks.

The growls from his stomach grew louder. The last they had eaten was their snack at the beach. They had been at the Promenade for their weekend beach stroll. During the three kilometer walk up and down the beach, they would talk about the hot topics of the week that had passed by. This last stroll, their conversation had been about this tiny little thing, invisible to the naked eye, that had taken control of the world – corona virus. Quite possibly, nine in every ten groups at the beach were talking about it as well.

As they walked past the line of eateries, Matthew had suggested that they grab something to eat.

“How about a roll of shawarma?” Nikhil had asked.

“You think it is okay to eat chicken now?” queried Matthew.

“What’s wrong?”

“Corona?!”

“Oh God, has corona-phobia got into your head as well?!” scolded Nikhil.

“Anna, two coronas please…”

The guy who had been scraping the chicken turned his head towards them in surprise. The people standing in front of nearby shops too gave them looks.

“Shawarma, shawarma…” Matthew corrected himself.

***

Loud clanging noise disrupted Nikhil’s sleep. Lost in thoughts, he too had fallen asleep. The sound grew louder and louder. Matthew too woke up.

“What’s the noise?” he asked.

“I don’t know, let me go and check. Stay here.”

p.c. Paint Valley

Nikhil got up and walked in the direction of the sound. There was a huge rock, the size of an elephant, a little ahead. He climbed up the rock and looked around. The sky was draped in orange. At a distance, he could see the silhouettes of the tribal people standing in front of their little houses and clanging their vessels. “Go corona, go corona, go…” they chanted.

Nikhil climbed down the rock and walked back to Matthew, or the spot where he had left him. For Matthew wasn’t to be seen there. Beside the skeleton was a pool of blood.

“Maaatt...” called out Nikhil in despair.

- To be continued -

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About the writer - A 'curious kid' who loves to travel and explore the world. Believes that 'the world is a better place, if you keep exploring.' You can check his explorations here https://lecuriouskid.blogspot.com/