text: You’re in line at the grocery store. An old sickly man is uncomfortably close to you, not more than 5 1/2 feet away. You think about turning to tell him to back off but worry that you might breathe in his air in the space between your words. &#x200B; You think better of it and scoot a few inches forward. The lady in front of you shoots an annoyed glance in your direction. Well... you’re pretty confident it’s a lady, and that it was a glance, the hazmat suit makes it hard to tell. &#x200B; You scoot back half the distance as a compromise. The line moves forward. you purchase your groceries, suspiciously eyeing the fingerprint residue on the debit pin pad. You decide to run it as credit. The cashier hands you a pen to sign and compliments your smile. You blush and say tha.... oh my god you're touching your face. Why are you touching your face?! It’s probably nothing. &#x200B; The cashier is staring at you in horror. It’s not nothing, you’ve been compromised. Gavin Newsom and Andrew Cuomo suddenly bursts through the door with a team of pandemic police. They put you in a glass box and ship you to a local zoo that’s been converted to a holding area. &#x200B; Welcome to quarantine &#x200B; Ok, this is probably fine right? I'm in the care of professionals, they are looking out for my best and the public good. A worker comes out into the room. he's wearing all white and carrying a... watering can? You squint. Yeah, that's what it is. He starts to pour water over the tops of your glass celled brethren. You look up. Holes. &#x200B; The worker is nearing closer now, methodically watering each box. Everyone looks confused, and people start to shout and ask questions. "Why are we here?" "Why don't we have beds?!" The thought hadn't struck you, but it was now poignantly odd that someone should be quarantined in a standing glass box. &#x200B; Another oddity catches your attention. The shouts are subsiding. But only the ones furthest away, like a trailing silence. You watch and listen as the silence closes in on you. The worker is watering your neighbor now. You see for the first time that it's not quite water at all. It mists as much as it pours. It fills his cell and his body slackens, a faint smile on at the corner of his mouth. &#x200B; Your turn. The worker looks at you, his gaze is detached. He raising his arms and the can with it. Your nose fills with sweet, then sour, and every iteration between. Your skin blazes with sensation as if your nerve ending were being trailed through cotton. And finally, a deep, comforting slumber engulfs you. You fall into nothing. &#x200B; Awake. You look around blurry-eyed. The boxes are gone, replaced with smears of green and yellow. Your eyes widen and force shut in an attempt to restore your vision. It only makes it worse. You go to rub your eyes but your hand never reaches them. you look to the side. You only see leaves. You look down, more leaves. Your vision darkens as you lose the ability to crane your neck. &#x200B; Your vision returns, but not in the same way. You feel the light as much as you see it. Your thoughts become simple. Warm light. Grow tall. Reach more light. Nice smile.