RESUSCITATED: A COVID-19 TRAGEDY

Taking a few more upward steps, a flickering shadow and then a staccato whack arrested her progress. Before Sarah’s recognition of the source of the noise, a sufficient interval occurred for her skin to erupt into a clammy sweat. That bird - was it a robin or a cardinal this year? – had returned to build its nest in the lilac bush at the corner of the house, and the amorous male was attacking its image in the window at the top of the stairwell in an attempt to drive off its competitor. Heretofore the whacking, thwacking, smacking bangs would have irritated her, but now the assaults cheered her; life had gone on without her ……… as it always had ……… and as it always would.
Continuing the ascent, another premonition shuddered through her being. Why was she nervous? This was her home, and one with overwhelmingly pleasant memories. Slowly Sarah turned the door knob to the kitchen. Slowly she nudged the door open. Slowly she reached for the light switch. Immediately Sarah sensed that something was wrong; something was different. As she stood immobilized in the threshold, she suddenly became aware of an emptiness. There was nothing on the kitchen countertop: no toaster, no coffeepot, no cutting board, no utensils carousel. Why would burglars bother with such cheap loot? Gazing beyond the kitchen, Sarah recognized that the dining room was stark bare: no furniture, no decorations, no photographs. Like a bullet, the truth pierced her heart- her entire home’s contents had been cleared out. She felt sick, weak, numb. In a daze she passed through to the living room. It also was desolate and forlorn. Where were the sofa, loveseat, and chair that her husband had crafted and had been upholstered by her own hands? Where was the decades-old silk flower arrangement that she had bought for her mother’s funeral viewing and had meticulously cleaned over the years? Where were the photographs that had cluttered all of the walls? Sarah wanted to cry but was too stunned with disbelief for the tears to flow. In none of her conversations with her children had they mentioned selling her personal belongings. She was totally unprepared … Although she was now exhausted both physically and mentally, Sarah was impelled to go forward. She already knew the answer, but it was as if she had to see it to believe it. The reality still couldn’t be accepted.