Beep.
They opens their eyes.
Beep.
Water. Sip of juice.
Cough.
Beep.
Tears. Laughter.
How long was I out?
Years. Too long.
Hugs. Kisses.
Beep.
They remembers.
Eyes bulge. Sweat.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
What about covid?
Scratching. Nodding.
Oh yeah. That was back then, right?
Turning to them. Patting their arm below the needle.
It’s gone now.
They shakes their head.
What? How?
Shrugs.
What about the unvaccinated?
Yes, yes. Some of them died of it, some turned and took the jab. A few survived. The virus just disappeared.
They sighs. Relief.
Beep.
They senses hesitation.
Beep. Beep.
What?
Rumor of a new … aleph?… yeah, aleph variant. Found in a sample from the big event last week. You missed it!
Beep. Beep. Beep.
What big event?
The last polar icecap meltdown event.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Oh, but how are we all still here? …
A sharp pain in their chest. And then gone.
Cough. Never mind. Did you validate it? The new variant rumor? At the, you know, usual credible sources?
More scratching.
Oh yeah, that too, right?
Giggles.
Turning to the them.
There is no such thing anymore.
Nods. Hands gesture thumbs up and ok emojis.
What do you mean?
Well… let’s see. They (all — what did they call them — news? — companies, bloggers) made a lot of money especially with all the variants — and then came the lawsuits — mandatory fact checking laws, heavy penalties. Health, Politics, everything just stopped in the news — being too hard to report into. The last two areas left were recipes and gardening. Two months back, this big new celebrity chef sued the last recipe site shut. Now, what you used to call “news” is just gardening tips. There are a few lawsuits there too, but neither side has much money to pursue them at this point. I would say just a matter of time.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
But… but… what about the first amendment? Freedom of speech? Media keeping society and government in check? Checks and balan…?
Laughter.
Oh, there were those things too, right? How time flies…
