Are we living a life that is safe from harm? Of course not. We never are. But that's not the right question. The question is are we living a life that is worth the harm?
(Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, Welcome to Night Vale, episode 46: "The Parade")
Some names have been changed.
The news came to me while I was having lunch. I heard the bell of Titania's messages. The classes had been cancelled. I stared at the screen in amazement. I knew it was a possibility but I didn't expect it so soon. Maybe the situation was worse than I thought.
Anyway, I finished lunch and I went to school to pick Luna and Erin up. I knew that most of my students would be ecstatic but I was shocked. I started exchanging messages with other teachers. We had the same worries: Did we have to go to school? In Madrid they had to. What about the second term grades? We didn't know yet.
After what seemed like a long time Luna and Erin got into my car. I had prepared a calming daddy talk for them but Luna was already in the know. She said that the students cheered, shouted and laughed when they heard the news but she was a bit worried.
"Daddy, are we all going to die?"
"No, sweetheart," I replied.
"I don't want Erin to die!"
"Me neither."
"I don't want to die!" added Erin.
"No one is going to die," said I, in my take of a calming voice.
When we got home all the dolls were put in a quarantine. I asked Erin why and she explained that it was because of the "problemavirus". My new favourite word.
Titania came home shortly afterwards. She knew someone who knew someone who was infected, so she was a bit worried herself. We talked and we decided to stay at home as much as we could. We called our parents and told them that they wouldn't see their granddaughters in two weeks. It wasn't a happy call, but they all understood.
It was time to go shopping. The chemist's was deserted but the supermarket was crowded. It was a bit tense. The carts were fuller than usual, the lines were longer. Everybody was on their mobiles. I bought sausages and hot dog buns to make a special dinner.
At bedtime the girls were really excited. I told them two of my best stories, "La princesa Pelusilla" y "El príncipe del pelo de vainilla", but in the end mummy had to step in. Quick dinner and a shower for me. I checked my emails but there wasn't much new information. My friends from Rolegate wanted to move the game to Discord. Sounded like a good idea, so we did just that. I played a chess game and I won.
Titania was already fast asleep. She was coughing a bit, so I slept in the sofa.