“A Killer Amongst Us”
Mar 13, 2020We glare suspiciously at each other. On the train, on the street, in the bars. Who will be the first to cough? Who will we scream at, “burn the witch!”? There’s a killer amongst us, and none of us can see it. But one of us—maybe more—is in cahoots with the killer. Just because you don’t say you’re carrying the virus doesn’t mean you’re not carrying the virus. Humans have been known to conceal much more innocent secrets. Know one wants to be the witch, to be burned alive at the stake. By that point, it wouldn’t matter. We would all be infected.
We’ve all seen how this plays out. We all want to live in denial. We all want to continue with our own lives, go about our daily routines. But one wrong step onto the wrong train, standing next to the person who never heard of manners . . . one cough and the virus sprays out onto all the people standing in the vicinity. We’ll all glare. “Cover your fucking mouth, you animal!” Some will move to the other end of the train. We’ll all get off that train and on to others. We’ll do the virus’s bidding, spreading its seed. And we won’t know until it’s too late. We’ll all be witches needing to be burned at the stake. But there will be no one left to burn us. We will pray to our gods for quick deaths. But we will breathe and breathe, slower and slower, feeling the burn, the oxygen draining. We will flop on the sidewalks like fish, gasping for a breath of fresh air. Each inhale will be less refreshing. Each exhale one exhale closer to meeting our makers. “Will I see you when this is all over?” Who knows. One more shot of whiskey, barkeep. At least I’d like to go out giving fewer fucks. Can I get an amen? Amen!