Staying Home During Coronavirus COVID-19 In 25-word Short Stories
Each one of us is adjusting to the new normal of social distancing and self-isolation in different ways. We thought we’d open a door to the private lives of our writers, so you can see what they are feeling and thinking and doing—expressed in 25 words or less—while when travel is temporarily off the table.
The good news is that I am now alone with my imagination. The bad news is that I am now alone with my imagination.
- Judith Fein, Executive Editor, YourLifeIsATrip.com
Brexit. Wildfires. Climate crisis. Trump. 65-million refugees. Global pandemic. Without the heart-opening hope that leaving home inevitably inspires, self-isolation might not seem so bad.
- Ellen Barone, Publisher, YourLifeIsATrip.com
Is it safe to leave my 1963 bomb shelter now? –I need toilet paper.
Outside even the birds are silent. Inside questions jostle for attention. The elm branch taps on my window. "We're in this together," it whispers, nodding.
I explore who I am in crisis-time: A chipmunk, hoarding supplies? A bear, hibernating? A bird, flying above the fray? A fish, swimming with the flow?
Italy beckons but I shelter here. My home is a shrine to Italy; every wall, every shelf. Water colors; ceramics, jewelry, purses. Italy is home.
- Cheryl Alexander
A state of grace. Nothing needful. Digest travels. Edit photos. Write essays. Finish website. Call friends. Dream of living in Firenze studying Etruscan ways.
Stop, breathe, observe! The universe is asking me to return to the simplicity of life. Deep down in my heart, it really is what I need.
- Andrea Marques
Downstairs, cold pizza, dirty dishes, sleeping teenagers. I climb upstairs; soft music, a made bed, books, my wall of quotes and visions for the world.
Back away from the refrigerator -- AGAIN. Get on the treadmill. I said back away from the refrigerator. Feed the cat instead. Let him get fat.
Look at my patch of sky. Hear our backyard brook. Watch birds darting past an open window. Press life's pause button. Fresh light banishes darkness.
- Barbara Wysocki
One, in quarantine in the basement.
Two, face timing her bestie.
Three, conference calls and contracts.
Me, nourishing them and holding it all together.
- Ingrid Littmann-Tai
Sudden shift in life path. Invisible threat surrounds us. Time to dive deep inside, share love. All alone together we go. Hope for renewal.
- Jean Kepler Ross
Banish panic. Dissolve fear. Thwart anxiety. Name them. Send them to swim in a cauldron of boiling lava. Tune into your inner storyteller. Sing.
I retired to enjoy alone time and travel after a lifetime of high-stress jobs. Our home, our life together- peace. We can do this. Easily.
- Lynn Smith
Out of the city; built-up pressures release. Here, Mother Nature’s rhythms continue; unperturbed by human concerns. Everything has changed; nothing has changed.
- Chris Pady
Where's my trip, man? Where's my ski. My sea. My far-flung family? Where's my movie, dude? My morning run.My Hamilton. Dude, I'm so done.
We cut the spring road trip short with a power drive home. Snuggled in our familiarity, we still wonder. What else might we have seen?
- Cindy Carlson
Weathering
Stripped of quotidien realities,
bare-branched as winter trees
before the gale, we stand
rooted in common soil.
We will not break,
we'll bend.
- Dorty Nowak
Slipping into and out of Spain, like two masked bandits, seeking to beat the virus at its deadly game. Did we beat it? Maybe.
Stockpiling for Covid 19:
Long walks in lush countryside to fill my senses: uplifting birdsong, pungent fennel, fragrant mint, gently caressing breezes, precious sightings of wild irises and orchids.
- Monica Datta
(Ring, Ring)
Hi Mom and Dad,
Whadja’ watch last night?
What ‘r ya’ watchin’ tonight?
What ‘r ya’ watching tomorrow night?
Thank god for Netflix.
- Effin Older
I grabbed the leash. The dog hopped and waggled as if to say, "I don't know what changed, but I'm glad you're home with me."
A month in Honduras and El Salvador lay ahead, no plans made, nagging reminders to not procrastinate. And just like that, it no longer mattered.
What about you? How are you coping? Use the comment box below to share your own 25-word contribution or join the conversation on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
