The Summer Of 2021

Jayesh looked forward to the summer of 2021 after that disastrous summer of 2020. He had a lot of plans for outings after almost one year of being stuck at home. As any youngster of 25 years of age, Jayesh was raring to go out and enjoy himself.

He was quite fed up with wearing masks too. He wished to be free of all the things that were the reminders of 2020. With the vaccination happening across the country, at the onset of summer, he felt 2020 and the havoc that virus wreaked in that year was already a thing of the past.

He complimented himself for having beaten the virus in 2020. He started hanging out with like-minded friends. After all, the Work From Home with its long hours and no human physical human interaction was driving him up the wall at his single bedroom apartment in Mumbai.

Once in a while, he started going out to the movies as he had always been an ardent admirer of the big screen movie watching experience. In the beginning, he was careful with the COVID-19 protocols of wearing the mask, maintaining social distance, washing his hands etc. But as time progressed he slackened on almost all of these things.

When he heard his friends Avinash mentioning “I am sick and tired of wearing a mask and looking like a thug. I decided to say goodbye to it.”

The same day Jayesh decided that he too would stop wearing one. He kept one in his pocket so as to hoodwink the authorities, but he hardly wore it. As he breathed free, taking in the summer air filled with that unique jasmine scent, he fully felt alive after a very long time.

That particular morning he had received a call from his Grandmother from Pune. Jayesh was very fond of her as she had spoilt him rotten while he was growing old by treating him like a small emperor. She still did, whenever he visited her. On a whim, he decided to pay her a surprise visit by driving down the next morning.

As his granny had a sweet tooth, he always bought her favourite condiments on the way. When he reached Pune, his grandmother almost cried. Better sense prevailed in Jayesh and he her to maintain a safe distance between them. It had almost been a year since he had visited her. She fussed over him and both of them had a real good time with each other after a long time. His granny was staying with her widowed daughter in a spacious house in Pune.

The next week as Jayesh was out on his morning walk near his apartment in Mumbai, he felt something was amiss. It was only after reaching home and taking a bath lathering himself with soap he realized that he was missing the smell of the soap. “No wonder I couldn’t smell the jasmines on my walk too. I seem to be coming down with a cold.” He thought.

That night he developed a sore throat. By morning he had a fever with chills. Extreme fatigue hit him in the noon. He realized that the truth was staring at him in the face. With great trepidation and against his will, he dragged himself to the COVID-19 test centre and got himself tested. He hardly slept even after taking paracetamol. He couldn’t focus on anything. He had no appetite and the fatigue seemed to engulf not only his body but it seemed to fog his mind too.

When he received the results on his phone, he took a long breath and read it. It confirmed his worst fears. He tested positive. As he felt distraught, another horrifying thought hit him. He had visited his grandmother just a few days back and she was almost 70 years old.

“OMG, what have I done!” he started to panic. Feeling totally helpless and alone, he broke down. Collecting himself and his thoughts after a while, he did what he had to. Getting himself a medical kit, informing his father about it while reassuring them that he was quite okay. The hardest part was to ask his Dad to get Jayesh’s grandmother tested.

The next two days as Jayesh quarantined and rested, his mind was very restless. Though he was hardly into praying, he fervently prayed and willed that his grandmother should not be subject to pay the price for his reckless behaviour.

His father called him after two days. Jayesh lifted the call dreading the worst. When he came to know that his grandmother tested negative, he heaved a sigh of relief. As he was about to keep the phone down, his father said “Wait. I have to tell you something.”

Jayesh waited while his father took a deep breath and said “I tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.”

Jayesh fell speechless. As his brain went numb, he heard his father say “The other day your cousin Ritesh had dropped by at the house. It looks like he had been casually roaming around. He and I both slept in the same room at the night. When I came to know about him testing positive, your mother and I got ourselves tested. Don’t you worry? I have only mild symptoms and am quarantining at home. Fortunately, your mother tested negative.”

Jayesh’s mind raged thinking about his cousin’s reckless behaviour. But before he could say anything, his mind alerted him to his own callous behaviour which had placed his grandmother at risk. Asking his father to take care of himself and feeling absolutely helpless about the situation, he hung up the phone.