Commonwealth Essay 

‘The year is 2050 and you’ve been asked to write about the coronavirus pandemic for a
museum. What story would you tell?’ 

The dark way out

 
Beep! Beep! Beep! Wearily, I swiped around at the air, in an attempt to turn off the irritating alarm that
had actually sounded quite beautiful when I had previously set it up. Soon enough, I was up, well at least
after I saw that the alarm had already rung five times before this one. I was late. Again. In a haze of
getting ready, driving and a bit of napping along the way, we were at school. As I ran up the exhausting
flights of stairs, I managed to catch a glimpse of a few other girls. One of them was wearing a mask. I
tried to hide my hysterical laugh with a cough, but it came out more like a snort. I remembered the
previous day, when my younger sister had told me that some girls in her class were wearing masks, in
fear of catching some random virus. I had laughed maniacally. It was ridiculous after all. The rest of the
day went by quite fast. Dreadfully actually. In fact, I dreaded every single second of it, constantly
watching the clock as if to make time go faster. I only really zoned in when I heard someone mention
something like, ‘coronavirus.’ I rolled my eyes, finding the idea of some weird virus invading and taking
over, quite absurd. I had obviously heard about pandemics like the Spanish Flu and Plague, but I had
never taken them very seriously, let alone think about having to face one. Another few dreadful hours
passed and we were finally on our way back home. A few people came over to our house, and of course,
I was busy relaxing and only just beginning to watch T.V when I heard it again. The guests, who were
obviously more informed about worldly matters than me, were talking about the virus and how quickly
it was spreading. Coming from them, it actually sounded quite serious. And then they came to talk about
schools. The exact minute they said that schools were closing from that weekend onward I went mad.
When you have a huge assignment due in two days, those words can be very soothing. I still didn’t pay
that much attention to it at all, but slowly, I started to realise that maybe it was more than just a break
from school. News headlines just said that cases were increasing every day, and soon, we were being
locked inside our very own houses. Our faces would be tied with suffocating masks every time we were
to step out of the house. Well, that is only when we were actually allowed outside of the house. We
were staying away from the people that we would once give anything in the world to see in the fear of
catching or giving a virus. It was crazy to think about it, really. That in under a month the entire country
was under lockdown all because of a virus. It was like a huge wave, and me and the people I knew were
at the shore. First, it affected the very outside, then it came closer and closer, until it finally hit the
shore. I really didn’t realise how much I was taking it all for granted until it came into our family, slowly
creeping across us all, one by one. Of course, like all others, that time passed too. It passed just like the
first wave, and the second, and the third. And when we finally thought that we had woken up from the
grievous nightmare and everyone was finally coming out of their houses which had turned into
‘temporary’ cocoons, it came back. Before we knew it, it was back, and this time to stay for good. It was
as if it had come just to inspect the area before. And after it had examined planet Earth, it turned out
that it was perfect for it to settle in with the rest of us. Thankfully, we had experience this time. When
we finally realised that fighting was no longer an option, we learnt to live with it. Soon, it became our
friend really. One that helped us realise no matter what happens, if we stay calm and work together,
we’ll always find a way out at the end of it. Even if it is a bit of a dark way out.
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