Quarantine
by Ekaterina Esebua from Brooklyn, NY
After my husband died, my parents asked me to join them. I left my country, Georgia, and moved to New York with three kids. We live in Brooklyn. Six people in a two-bedroom apartment. I would say this space definitely isn’t built for quarantine in any way... almost two months we are isolated from the outside world. And all of us have our own attitudes towards this insane, bizarre situation.
We are quite a friendly family, getting through the everyday routines bravely. However, there is irritation. Every day I have online classes, my kids have an online school, Mom works online and Dad is retired. So mostly he cooks dinner for busy us...
The most rebellious member of the family is teenage son Luka, who is struggling to get out. The main reason is his girlfriend. We, of course, don’t allow him, but sometimes he disappears very quickly without us noticing. The scene he returns to at home is very special: grandpa meets him on the top of the stairs, armed with a mask, gloves, and sanitizer. He makes him take his clothes off, sanitize, march to the bathroom, and of course, adorns him with “nice” words...
The most bored is Nikolozi, he is 11 and is especially missing playing soccer and eating pizza.
Mariami, my youngest daughter, doesn't have any troubles to entertain herself. She is a ballet dancer, loves to dance and sing songs with headphones. She dreams of becoming a writer and created a story series about giraffes, teddy, and hippo getting through the virus period. However, sometimes she looks out of the window with a tiring face.
Every morning we wake up with a mysterious smell coming from the kitchen. Mom bakes pancakes for breakfast, then goes back to her room to work. She is a social worker, coordinating home caregivers on the front line. She gets phone calls all day long...After she retires I have to take care of my family. So my parents helped me to go to college again. Online classes take long hours. Then I am doing assignments and helping my kids to do their homework. Regardless of how many loving people surround me, sometimes I feel alone... Spring is here outside of my window and I am missing it.
