Chapter 1

                     

        It all started with a wonderful morning in Wuhan, from the beautiful frosted windows to the warm cup of hot chocolate in my hands to the creaking sound of the wood under my feet as I took small footsteps to Ma’s room, freezing cold.

        “Ma, wake up, wake up… it's time for work,” I whispered. 

        Okay, Okay,” Ma whined.

        When we got to the Huanan Seafood Market you could hear the sound of animals.

        “Ju, come feed the animals,” Ma shouted.

        “Okay,” I said quickly.

        “Time for lunch,” Ma said excitedly.

        “Okay,” I yelled.

        For lunch, Ma made my favorite! The smell of fresh soup dumplings and the hot and dry Noodles with sesame paste melted my heart, especially at this time of year. 

        “Two more hours to go,” I shouted.” 

        Ma started laughing, which turned into a cough. I was worried, so we decided to close early. I was feeling blue, but I knew it was the right thing to do for Ma.

        On our way home, Ma and I took a walk. As we walked home her coughing worsened.  Ma stopped walking and sat on the floor.

        “Ma, stand up,” I announced.

        “I can’t, Ju,” Ma cried, holding on to my hand.

        I called the ambulance. Like lightning in a blank of an eye, sirens rushed toward me and Ma. The sirens were very loud; everything happened so fast that I blacked out.

        I woke up in this room with a loud beeping noise. I looked over to see Ma lying on the bed. My face began to turn red, but at the same time water dripped from my crystal blue eyes; as they slowed down, they reached the bottom of my face.

        “Ma,” I repeatedly yelled.

        Ma woke up, confused. Then I noticed Ma was hooked up to lots of wires, unlike me. I walked slowly to her. She held on tight to my hand and combed her fingers through my thick, black hair. Shortly after, the doctors came to check on us. They did special testing on her.

        Another day had passed, and Ma was feeling worse. The test results came back, indicating she had this new virus, SARS-CoV-2.  They said they only saw it with people older and people who were near the Huanan Seafood Market. The doctors said they were going to do more testing and try to boost Ma's immunity. 

        Plants were green, flowers were blooming, the sun was shining, and everyone was out again. Ma felt better, but we quit our old job because of the bad news. Ma and I started growing crops to sell to make money.

        “Ma, look at the news!” I shouted.

  “Okay,” she replied.

        “There’s a new virus called COVID- 19, one of the deadliest viruses around worldwide. We recommend that you wash your hands, don’t touch your eyes, and wear a mask,” the news reporter announced.

        As time went by, the news got horrendous. Ma had one of the worst Viruses in the world. Millions of people around the world got this SARS-CoV-2, which they now called COVID- 19.

        Day by day, cases got worse. Thousands to Millions of people got this virus. And thousands of people died. 

        Ma and I drove to the grocery store to get groceries.  Normally, I quickly looked outside of my window, but there was nothing to see now. There was nobody.   It was as if I was the only person in the world. I felt like everything was so empty, the shelves and the people that would be around me. 

        Weeks went by.  I took a step outside for a nice, refreshing breath of air, but there was nothing to see. Not a sound or a person you can hear or see, just the silence of crickets. The buildings were dark as the night sky, with very little light to see the beautiful trees surrounding me.

-Naliah J.