Pandora’s Box

She was looking at the street from her balcony. The quietness almost grabbed her by the throat. She knew it was her fault somehow, she did this. She felt the tears well up in her eyes. She couldn’t help it. Across the street a little girl with a purple dress waved. She hesitated but waved back. The sun slowly rose, and she just stood there, looking down on the empty streets, watching the shadows between the houses change with the climbing of the sun. It never was this quiet before on a weekday. No cars in the streets, no people, just the chirping of the birds announcing that spring had sprung.

Her next-door neighbour came onto his balcony and started to talk to her. It startled her. She looked at him; his hair was grey, he had wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes. Kind eyes, she thought. She had hardly ever talked to him. Never had the time before all this. Before she worked every day and, in the evenings, she went to the pub or a restaurant with friends. Now those were all closed. Her neighbour was still talking but she just couldn’t concentrate on a word he said. “I’m so sorry”, she just whispered as she walked back inside, leaving her neighbour talking to himself.

When it became dark, she turned on the tv to watch the news, only to see it had spread even more. All over the world people stayed home or were only allowed to do some quick grocery shopping where they would hoard leaving hardly anything for others. She sighed deeply and turned the tv off. She sat there in the dark thinking what to do. How hard she was thinking about it, there was nothing, she had done enough.

Over the next days and weeks, it became even worse. People were dying, more people were getting sick, and when it all would be over, there would be a huge economy crisis all over the world. She was looking outside where people on their balconies were starting to sing songs with each other. They didn’t give up hope, she thought. But she had, she had given up hope a long time ago. She looked to the corner where she had put the box, her box. The box which never should have been opened. But she had been too curious. She had to know what was in that box. She had opened the box one day, and all kinds of evil things flew out of it. It had scared her so that she wanted to put the lid back on, but she couldn’t. The last thing that flew out was hope. Outside the people were still singing, they also were applauding the nurses and doctors who were working so very hard to try and cure the sick.

Hope. The people had hope. They held on to hope. She took one more look at the box, which was so beautifully decorated, which made her want to open it more. She then turned around and closed the door and went onto her balcony too. She smiled at her next-door neighbour and started to sing and applaud with all her neighbours.

Hope, she said to herself. We still have hope.



© KH