I know they’re there, just beyond the door.
The people in my neighborhood, the ones who nodded, the ones who passed unknown. The shopkeepers, the grocery store clerks send me provisions, at least what they have.
The streets are empty, the walk along the river no longer trod by joggers, baby carriages and lunchtime walkers.
The horns of the cars and trucks are silent. No one is about.
Day and night, the sirens scream, delivering another person to the emergency room of another hospital filled to the brim with suffering.
It will end we’re told.
One day, the mountain will be scaled and we will descend the other side
Bereft, tired, grieving, yet grateful to be alive.
Then we will emerge from just beyond the door, together again, just outside the door.
………..
Adele O’Grady Botticelli, earned an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick, Ireland, 2018 under Frank McCourt Chair Joseph O’Connor in 2018. She has a BA in Theatre Arts from Smith College in Massachusetts. Adele has completed a collection of short stories and is now writing her first novel.