Words by: Petula Bowa
Art by: Adrienne Aw

The years everything went dark. Went quiet. We were confined to the careful solitudes of our own homes. Of our own minds.

We had no choice but to lead quieter, simpler lives.

It felt like it was only yesterday that we celebrated the new year, making foolish resolutions we knew we wouldn’t keep.

And for the first time, I spent my New Years alone, thinking that if I started the year off with a clear mind, away from the distractions of the holidays, that I would start my year off right.

But I was wrong. We all were.

Few saw it coming and the rest just laughed. But here we are now; bound by the chains of our own humanity. The chains of our own mortality.

We are slowly being devoured, not by the monster under our beds, but by the monster we can’t see.

But we continue to fight, both at the hospitals and in our hearts. The sun still shines, but it’s harder to feel it behind a mask or within your four bedroom walls.