The COVID Effect By: Faiqa Awais
T
he other day, I went to the mall to buy a gift for someone. I had decided to buy a leather jacket and ultimately settled on visiting Forever 21 but couldn’t find the store. I asked a young man at a cafe to guide me to the location. His response surprised me. He said that the store had closed and pointed towards a location exactly behind me. I asked him again, puzzled, and with some uncertainty, “Forever 21?” He smiled and said, “Yes, Forever 21.” It was not the first store that closed down due to the pandemic. About four months ago, I wanted to buy a cake for an occasion. I thought to purchase it on my way to work. It was convenient because it was for my colleagues. I was surprised when I could not find the cake shop I was looking for. I thought that I had missed the shop, and told my driver to check again after dropping me off. He called me to report that the shop had closed down. That, too, was the effect of the pandemic. It frustrated me, like many whose lives had been altered due to the pandemic. After the aforementioned incident, I traveled out of town for the first time since the regulations began. On our way back, I went to the market, but the whole shopping mall was deserted. A single coffee shop and one other shop were open, with only one family sitting in the coffee shop. No lights, closed doors, silent escalators – all was quiet in the mall. This was the impact of the pandemic. I felt sadness and fear, the fear of disease, the fear of helplessness, the fear of insecurity. Gradually, lock-downs were lifted, curfews were ended, and public places were opened with restrictions. Life started moving, though at a slow pace. This led me to think: is there anything good that happened during this time, something good that is still happening?
6 | Noor Magazine II 2020
