Dearest Reader,
Sorry I have not written to you in a long while. The old world is dying and a new one struggles to be born. And now, now is the time of monsters.
It has been many moons since the world was struck by a virus which shook the core of our society and gave us a new normal. We wore masks and washed our hands alot. We saw our government officials on the telly a lot more than we would like. They always had some bad news to share; like the increasing numbers of patients who had caught the virus. Scientists and doctors became our first line of defence, not the military. The police became a bigger threat than the virus, hurting the people in the name of enforcing preventative measures for the virus. We were arrested and asked to pay expensively for not being able to afford masks and for being outside at night finding food and drugs for our loved ones. Our resilience and fortitude, like our immune systems were put on trial. Zoom was born. People started working from home and our pets couldn’t be happier. We worked from home for protection, the government said so. We knew it too. Inequality grew. While the common people could not afford new masks or hospital bills for their loved ones, billionaires and millionaires grew their wealth. Yet we soldiered on, making banana bread, dancing on the internet, working from home, wearing masks and washing our hands a lot.
In these dark moments, we turned to artists. They held our hands and hearts;told us that we were not alone and that a light would soon appear at the end of the tunnel. Their art hugged us since we could not hug our loved ones. Scientists had said to keep a physical distance. In true Kenyan spirits*pun intended*, we wrote and sang songs about alcohol. And everyone wished that nightclubs would open so that we could enjoy these bangers better. We read books and learnt about atomic habits and how to not give a f*ck. Why were we reading books when the world around us was burning? Because we weren’t made to binge the world’s destruction and there’s good in pursuing joy where you can find it. Fiction armed us with precisely the tools we needed to overcome the crisis into which our world had fallen. Yet, we soldiered on, making banana bread, dancing on the internet, working from home, wearing masks and washing our hands a lot.
I thought I would write to you to ask you how you are doing. Are you still wearing masks and washing your hands a lot? Are you working from home? Or have you been pushed back to the office because someone cannot fathom loosing their investment in real estate and now you are forced to hold meetings on Zoom but from the office? Many people have stopped making banana bread but they are still dancing on the internet….and taking a lot of pictures and videos in the gym.They call it content creation and it is a whole industry, and they are making money from it. You should try it. Can you hug your loved ones now or are you still keeping physical distances? If yes, hug them a little tighter and more often. Let them know you love them. And when you miss them, send them your love. If the recent past has given any lessons, it is that good health and our loved ones are our most prized possessions. I am really sorry I haven’t written to you in a long while. The old world is dying and a new one struggles to be born. And now, now is the time of monsters.
Yours still here,
Loch.