"The Other Pandemic"
Submitted by Tristan Marajh
Preparedness only comes in retrospect, after hundreds of thousands have already died. But at least there is that: preparedness. Preparedness for the next one.
But there is another one already. Not the next one. The other one.
And many of us are not prepared.
It has been with us, in us - every single one of us - since we deemed ourselves Homo sapiens; the term, Latin, implying “wise”. And yet we are not.
But we are intelligent.
Measures were enacted. Nations mobilized to immobilize. Medicines are developed.
Yes, we are intelligent.
Our intelligence has not combatted that other illness.
The other one did not come through animals. Animals are immune to it. It is our disease: our dis-ease. Our restlessness, boredom, our avoidance of aloneness. As we hunker down and lay low, we face that one disease from which we cannot quarantine: ourselves.
We recognized the symptoms. We humorously complained about it in chat apps; we shared memes. We treated it with treats: Netflix, Zoom-ing, takeout and baking. We let it continue on unaddressed and unexamined, even if unwanted.
We treated ourselves and so, we never treated our selves.
Tristan Marajh's tale about Neanderthal & human conflict and coupling is a Finalist in both Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices' Annual Competition and The ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Awards. His literary-paranormal piece, inspired by a road-trip through the wilderness of B.C., Canada, is upcoming in Kyanite Press' Journal of Speculative Fiction: Shocking Stories of the Weird. He thanks Planet Scumm for this generous initiative during the world's challenging times.