Virus Shopping
The collection of moist crust that accumulated over the course of the evening prevents your eye from opening easily. So, you rub at it mindlessly, flicking the crumbs to the side of the bed. You arch your back, stretch your torso and extend your arms wide-reaching for imaginary apples hanging from the sides of your bed. With your arms outstretched, you lay there motionless, observing the blank wall, listening in on the dull silence of the morning. You shift your body to the left of the bed and come up to a seated position, you feel lazy, lethargic, then deeply slouch your back so much that you begin to feel a minor stretch along the back of your neck. Your hairs prickle against the cold pores of your skin. Eyes half-closed, you sigh deeply and look down at your large flat and narrow feet. Slowly, you slide your feet into your warm woolen slippers, then methodically stand up, adjust your underwear, and scratch at it. You walk into the kitchen, fill the red kettle with water, and then turn on the stove. Shifting your body slightly to the cupboard at your left, opening it, reaching up and placing your hand in the box in search of a red rose tea bag. Your hand inspects every corner and crevice of the box with its fingers, empty. You pull the box down from the top shelf and empty its contents out onto the counter. Some dust and small black specs of tea fall onto the counter. Still empty. You roll your eyes, and you then squawk. Seemingly frustrated, you open the fridge in hopes of finding something else to drink. You grab the carton of oat milk, twist the cap, and pour the remainder of the carton into your mouth. Two drops slowly drip into your parched mouth. Also, empty. You put the cap back on and place the empty carton back into the fridge and slam it shut. Shuffling slightly towards the table, you pull at a bar stool, sit down, thudding your elbows loudly on the hardwood, you then rest your head in your palms and rub at your face in circular motions. You grab a piece of paper and pen from the end of the table and begin to write; groceries, followed by; tea, milk.
You wait in line at the grocery store. You think back to when grocery shopping was easy and simple. How you would walk in and then walk out. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. You observe the people in the line before you, and notice how anxious, agitated, and fearful they are as they wait in line to purchase their food. About 20 minutes pass, the line gradually shortens, there are 2 more people ahead of you, so you place the purple mask over your face. You sanitize your hands, then put on your gloves. The grocery attendant signals at you beckoning you to enter. He asks you if you have a fever, sore throat, or cough. You say no. You proceed by then cleaning your gloves with more hand sanitizer. Pick up a red shopping basket and walk over to the milk section. Next to the usual oat milk you normally buy, you see macadamia nut milk. You ponder for a moment, then place it into your basket.
