THE PANDEMIC DENT

Antara Warltier

5th Grade • Alcott Elementary School

“The COVID 19 pandemic update is coming to you in a minute....” Kenzie turns the television off with terror in her eyes. As she walks to her mom, she thinks about how every minute someone is dying of the coronavirus. Wondering why and how it was so powerful.

She thinks about how much it dented our world. That dent keeps getting deeper and deeper whenever someone dies of the sickness.

But then again, seeing the bright side of the pandemic. The days of seeing your family, the time you spend together. That is what will heal the dent. Call a friend, call a family member. Let them know th—

“Kenzie, honey, I need you in the kitchen.” And just like that, her thoughts were blown away in the wind.

“What now mama?” Kenzie had said, trying to get out of this situation.

“Your brother needs serious help,” her mother had said.

“With a stuffed animal that’s ripped, huh, is that really serious?!” Kenzie had said, startling her mother. “Let Abuela do it. She sews dresses. She knows how to sew a stuffed animal back together.” Then Kenzie left. Away to her room. Also known as her thinking land.

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The next thing she knew, her mother calling her again.

“What now mama?!” she said.

“Here, talk to your auntie,” she said handing Kenzie the phone.

“Hey Kenzie, how are you?” her auntie said.

“Ok, I am the only girl here, well, besides mama and Abuela.”

“Hey, maybe you should get used to it. Or not. Just know that family is family, if you hate them or ignore them, they may remember that forever. It’s just like how we have to help our patients. We try to keep their hearts going. Don’t act too quickly.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” Kenzie says. She hands her mom the phone as she goes back to her room still thinking about the dent in the world.

She then starts to think about how her auntie must be very paranoid about coronavirus. Her auntie is risking her life to fight for the people who are sick and fighting for their lives. Maybe her auntie was right, don’t act too quickly. Just like that, Kenzie falls asleep, thinking and thinking and thinking.

“Mija, wake up!” her mother shouts from the kitchen. Just like that, Kenzie wakes up as if she never slept. As she woke up she immediately started to question why the dent was stuck in her mind. As she made her way to the kitchen in her pajamas, her little brother wasn't looking so good. Her mom was making breakfast, her grandma was sewing dresses, and her other brother was running around with his dog. Kenzie approached her brother with a smile.

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“Hey dude, you feeling okay?”

“Not really,” James said with a pale face.

He got up, walking past Kenzie to his room upstairs. A few hours later, Kenzie’s mom told her that her brother had the flu. Kenzie started to walk up the stairs to accompany her younger brother. She read him a story and checked his temperature. Wow, she had thought. Having a loved one sick is very sad. Now back to the dent she thought, how is coronavirus more contagious than the flu. And why is the coronavirus more dangerous? She thought and thought while humming to a song for her brother going to sleep. She thought, does the coronavirus multiply itself more times than the germs in the flu? Is that why or how it became more contagious? How does the coronavirus change our world than the flu? Kenzie hummed and hummed until she had to leave her brother alone in his room.

“Mija, please leave your brother alone,” Kenzie’s mom had said to her from the kitchen.

“I don't want you to catch it too,” she had said.

“Ugh, I won’t,” Kenzie had said. She watched the news once more. “Now on to the coronavirus update. Libby, please share what is new. Thank you, Josh, today on CNN news the update on COVID-19 is that New Mexico has increased cases of coronavirus by 75%. Please wear masks outside and gloves, social distance, and please stay at home. Thank you Libby, now on with the re—”

Kenzie immediately turned the news off. She stood up and said, “Are we gonna die in here with coronavirus?” I know this

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doesn't really sound like Kenzie, but she is a whole different person when she hears about stuff in her state. Kenzie ran up to her room unsatisfied with the news. She thought and thought.

The next event came in that day. Dinner. She was happy and sad. Meatloaf Monday and the happy part, well, just forget about the happy part. It’s really only sad. She sat down chowing down food with thoughts in her head. Her brothers were slumping in their chairs with misery. Her mother was trying to make them eat but it was of no use. No one likes meatloaf at her house. After ‘dinner’, Kenzie came to her bed wishing herself a better tomorrow.

Today was worse than she ever had thought it would be. Her brother had gotten worse. Weak like an eyelash and numb. His face was pale, and his eyes were shut closed. He was breathing softly and he was peacefully asleep with a high fever. Kenzie sat next to him thinking about the dent. His body fighting off the fever. His heart going Boom Boom Boom. Kenzie watched as he dreamed.

Kenzie wandered along the bedroom and saw many pictures of him when he was a baby. She walked across a small notebook with pictures of her and Teddy. She thinks of all the memories and sits back down. Teddy wakes up with a 103 degree fever. Teddy smiles and then falls asleep again.

Kenzie fell asleep with him on the other twin’s bed. Her mother came up and carried Teddy out of the room into another room worried about the fever.

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About 30 minutes later, Kenzie wakes up with a headache. She went downstairs wondering how long she slept. Her brother, sleeping in their parent’s room, wakes up throwing up. Kenzie brings a towel immediately as her mother brings a bucket. Kenzie gives him advice to take medicine. Teddy says no. Teddy then starts choking on the medicine and their mom had to call an ambulance. The paramedic said the medicine was too big to swallow or he didn’t drink enough water.

The next day came and Teddy was better. He ran everywhere and talked and talked about how scared he was if he had the coronavirus. Kenzie and her mother calmed him down with a waffle. He sat down saying how good it was to be back. Then he said if he got through the sickness, anyone could. “You didn’t have coronavirus,” Kenzie said.

Three weeks later!

A doctor at the hospital of New Mexico called their family. Kenzie handed the phone to her mother in tears. Her grandfather had been in the hospital for 5 weeks with no one knowing. He has a serious case of coronavirus and a very small chance of surviving. He has to stay in the hospital for 3 more weeks, if he has any chance of surviving. Kenzie’s mother cried asking if they could talk to him. They said no one was able to and grandfather could barely speak.

Kenzie’s brother had actually received a letter from the hospital. Grandfather was able to move around but still couldn’t speak. He had a terrible cough and slept for 7 hours straight. He may have to be in the hospital for another 2 weeks.

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Kenzie said a prayer in Spanish and stood up reading the letter to herself over and over again. That night she fell asleep being angry at grandfather. How did he not tell us? We have to support him.

I just don’t understand and I guess I will never understand this, she thought to herself.

Then she fell asleep with those thoughts, just racing through her mind. She slept until morning and again, not understanding this outbreak.

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