Future, Cristopher Liu

Future

by Christopher Liu

I looked forlornly out of my window. It was a sunny day during lockdown, and I was tired of being isolated indoors day in and day out. My eyes carelessly wandered across the sky outdoors, which was a light shade of blue, before finally settling themselves onto the sight of an empty wire, suspended by itself in mid-air.

I hesitated. Last time I saw the wire, I distinctly remembered seeing two robins, perched on the cable, at space from each other, looking absent-mindedly into the distance. They were at such great lengths from each other that they appeared to be respecting the social distancing rules of the humans, perhaps out of caution - or even sympathy - for the wretched creatures they saw on the ground, who were now confined within their own houses.

At the time this had puzzled me. There was such a large area of sky - a vast, unending sea of blue - for the birds to explore, to travel across, yet still they were perched there, unmoving. The birds appeared to be trapped by some force unbeknownst to them, unable to move, like myself in a lockdown.

Now, the birds would be flying again. They would be traversing the vast skies, travelling across lands yet unknown, and meandering past the endless landscape. They would be able to do whatever they wish, unconstrained.

I yearned for the future, for the time when the lockdown would end, when I would be able to do everything I wanted again. I yearned for the day that I would go back to school again without fear of the virus, and for the day that I would be able to travel to the places that I cherish, at my own whim. I have only begun to understand what the most important things in life are once I have begun to lose them. They are the most mundane things that I normally do not enjoy. I envisioned myself going back to chapel in my bests with a herd of unruly schoolboys, the sound of the chaplain faint within my ears; and last but not least, the dull and dreary days spent in the common room.

These happy thoughts made me smile.

Sometimes I asked myself: what if the lockdown will never end, what if the things I plan to do in the future will never happen, and those dreams of the future glided with gold become illusions and never truly materialise?

In some sort of way, the lockdown was a learning experience. It allowed us to more fully appreciate what we used to have. Freedom seems more like an opportunity rather

than destiny. Something that we had once taken for granted, but now appeared to be some sort of far-fetched privilege that had ceased to exist.

The empty wire gave me hope that there will be a time when we would be free again like the birds. Free to do what we plan to do and like to do. Freedom is only meaningful when we can make use of it.

I also thought about those less fortunate than myself. Those without families, those left homeless and destitute on the streets. In a lockdown, what were they to do now? With nowhere to go to and no one to talk to, my heart filled with gratitude for what I had compared to others, even in this lockdown. How strongly would they feel the frustration and hopelessness when they saw birds free in the blue sky? My heart felt moved by their hardships.

I thought about the nurses and the doctors on the frontline, who risked and sometimes even sacrificed their lives for the benefit of society and to save those in need. While I was at home, these people were working day and night tirelessly and with great risk. Their every sacrifice was just so that civilians like me could have our freedom back. Their courage and selflessness made me think about whether I would be able to do as well as them when it comes to my duty in the future.

When the day comes when everything has been restored to normal, what will I miss from the days gone by in the lockdown? What was in the minds of the two birds when they looked back from the sky? I imagined this could be the time where they accompanied and supported each other with a single wire connecting them, overcoming all the hardships and the difficulties of the time. Although freedom had been taken from them, the single strand of wire that linked them had not and it made them resilient.

What is this put in our own context? Social distancing has kept people apart, however, fighting for a common cause has brought people’s hearts closer. We were all connected by wires of neighbourhood, friends and families. We were not alone. Together we were stronger.

I looked deep into the blue sky and hoped that the two birds enjoyed their freedom. I hope that we will not have to face another crisis like this, but I know that if it comes, we will have grown and learnt from what we have experienced.

I imagined the birds flying off, towards the bright and distant future.