Short Stories for the Artistic Mind

Out

The people are calm. The leader issued a statement; gatherings are forbidden; academies and superfluous services and markets are to be closed off, for a cycle of fourteen days. Children are overjoyed; no more challenges of the mind. The parents, however, will finally experience the devilry of their children. Overworked instructors, who now no longer need to concern themselves with their lovable fiends, but rather their finances, ponder, silent and still, wondering about the future. Finances. The leader assures all will be well and those in need will be tended to. The people are calm, still. Economic power still reigns. News from other lands spread wide and efficiently, the blue birds and book of faces, masters of their craft; the leaders are desperate, as people have been disappearing every day, never to be seen again. News of a strange calamity's whisper, invisible, silent, deadly, came to the world's ear, yet none listened; until too many were lost. The people are calm. Birds singing, pages flipping, little yellow ghosts sending images, red tubes sending messages; the great messengers of our time are taking it upon themselves to relay concerns, advice and new information as the assassin roams around. More disappearances. Ghosts, desperately whispering, offering wisdom to those in grave danger. The leader is calm; the people are calm; all is well. These are simply rumours; tricks to toy with the mind of the people. The danger is overblown, no one needs to pay it any mind; the people are calm. Villages disappear, towns, cities. Entire populations vanish, in the blink of an eye. The great messengers call upon all to take into consideration this great event. The people are calm.........? Rolls of paper fabric disappear from stores, as if under a strange spell. Purifiers of sanitization evaporate before our eyes. Gallons of milk are added to carts in loads. Loafs and loafs and loafs and loafs and loafs of breads are taken away. The people are calmly acquiring all the essentials, preparing for the worst. The people are not calm. Cans, jugs, jars, pots, containers of food are sold by the hundreds, to a few citizens. Shoves, thefts, muggings, strikes; simply for a few paper rolls. The leader issued a statement: academies are to be shut down for an extended period of time, and non-essential services are to cease immediately; citizens are to remain at home to make the assassin's quest harder to accomplish. The people are not calm. Shop owners and citizens rush over to obtain any and all items they can acquire, without particular reason. The leader issued a statement: all must remain calm; provisions and essential services will not cease for any reason. People must remain calm and logical, for otherwise, the assassin shall win.

Tension is high. Nonessential moving between villages, cities or towns is forbidden. The simplest cough or clearing of throats raises suspicion in any who may hear such sounds. Everyone is an enemy; the Eastern people are devils. Paranoia runs wild in the hearts of all who dare leave their hearth. A distance of at least six feet must be maintained at all times between any person. Coins and papers are forbidden. The elders and pre-elders do not listen, out to buy a single pair of banana fruit, or a simple packet of mint chewing rubber, using paper currency, despite the leaders' warning. Insults and raised eyebrows thrown to all who dare question their eternal wisdom, despite how they are the assassin's prime targets.

4; 14;17; 28; 39; 46; 51; 80; 89. 1 death. 4 deaths; 5 deaths. 101; 120; 132; 146; 156; 189. 8 deaths. 202; 228. 1024; 1260; 1628; 2498. 20 deaths. All have been touched by the assassin, waiting for the final blow. This land was the least targeted of the country merely fourteen days ago. Wash your hands. Stay safe. Stay at home. Practise social distancing. The leaders issued statements, and the people remained calm indifferent. In merely fourteen days, less than 10% to over 46% of the total targets, despite the serious threats from the assassin; despite the numerous messages from the great messengers to which all listen to; despite how 31 746 people have already disappeared, have already been killed. The truth was out. The truth is out. The truth will out. Not one citizen's individual responsibility and choices will change the course the assassin takes. It can strike, anywhere, anytime and anyone. No one is safe.

No one is safe. But... no one is doomed...

Before the lands become barren, and the tears of your children flow, testimony to Humanity's foolishness... 

Act. 

Before all turns dead and grey... 

Stop.

Stop. Going.Out. 

Because the assassin...

Look. Do not kid yourself. If you continue to wait, to be irresponsible; to be a brat...

It. Will. 

Take. You. Out.

So, let this be the end of this story; let the assassin die out.

Note: To everyone, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeease! Stop going out; stop leaving your homes; and stop putting yourself through unnecessary risk. This virus is a serious issue, despite all the media and the conspiracy theories around it; and no matter what you may think, COVID-19, or "corona virus", is a killer; and with a case like Italy as a witness to its deadliness, all should be perfectly clear. As some doctors and officials say, this is World War III; we, the WORLD, are all at war with a common enemy. We are all in this together. If you believe your actions do not change anything in the end, they do. That is what defines a serious pandemic like the one we are experiencing right now; you matter, your decisions matter and you, as well as the billions of people in this world, make a difference. This is the time to stop everything; to stay at home; to practise social distancing; to be responsible; to limit your contact with the outside world. Pick up an art; continue that book you put on hold; cook; garden; anything! But please, be responsible. Stay safe; wash your hands; distance yourself; do NOT go out if you think you are sick. These are unique times. Be a hero; stay on your buttocks.