The sky is not the limit...

A digital alarm clock that showed 5:30 AM beeped repeatedly, shrieking louder with every passing second. After all it was a machine, totally unaware and unconcerned about the dread and irritation that it brought along.

This caused Tara to wake up with a sudden jerk. Fighting the urge to bundle up and sleep again, she took a minute, gathered her disoriented self and forced the child in her out of bed. It was time for work and considering its complexity and demand, she knew she couldn't afford a break. Her mind didn't agree as it hadn't for the past several days. A single thought was lingering in her head:” When was this all going to end?”

It had almost been a month since she had volunteered with the city corporation. Back then she hadn't given her decision a second thought and was quite eager to do all that she could to make things better. Now the very thought of the raging pandemic sent a chill through her spine. Contrary to her colleagues’ hopes, things were indeed taking a turn for the worse.

The Covid positivity rates had spiralled, hospitals were overfilled, and lakhs were suffering without a proper bed and medication all within a month's time. The lift of the earlier imposed curbs and restrictions had further added to the damage. Being in the forefront, she and her fellow mates had to bear the brunt and put in extra hours every day.

As she slowly filled her thermos with hot water, she wondered how many awareness campaigns were scheduled for the day and how her sore throat would sustain it all. It was indeed a mundane task to scream on the mike all through the day hoping that at least some would genuinely listen and pay heed to the guidelines.

Not just this, distributing masks and pamphlets, overseeing the containment zones, supplying essentials to the home quarantined, working out the data analytics for the day, surveying residents in specific zones, thermal screening them, assisting at vaccination centres ,helping out the covid testing teams, her job had it all.

The irony at the end was that unlike other normal jobs that she had done earlier, this one only filled her with sadness. She had no satisfaction at the end of the day. The only reason why she moved on was because she knew that there was much more work to do, many more people to help, tons more lives to save.

Looking back, she realized that she really didn't have any complaints or regrets, only a constant worry. She had been preparing for this battle even before she entered the foreplay but what had ignited it all along was the belief that things would indeed become better and that everyone could finally limp back to normalcy. However now even the thought seemed far- fetched and all she could foresee was them being pulled back, back into the sinking hole. All over again.

“Stop Tara!!” But the damage had been done. Bile filled up to her throat and she realized that she was choking. Why did everything that happened off late have such bad timing? Why on earth was corona devastating all their lives? Who was answerable for this mess? Will their strenuous efforts ever bear fruit? “No, you are not falling for this, get on", she shouted frantically trying to catch her breath. She couldn't give up, not now.

Wiping her tears that refused to stop, she got ready and donned her uniform. This was certainly not the end. Somewhere deep down, she knew that her efforts mattered. This was not the time to test its power or impact. There were so many looking out for her help. So many who relied on her timely assistance. This small thought was enough to put a smile on her face. She reiterated to herself.

The world was indeed filled with fighters. People who could withstand and succeed over the tantrums the virus threw. This sealed it. She pinned her badge and went and stood in front of the mirror. The badge read: “FRONTLINE WORKERS, YOU ARE THE WARRIORS OF THE FUTURE”.

WRITTEN BY,

K.T DEEPTA

XII K