A : Afresh Start #AtoZChallenge2020

Afresh Start - A Short Fictional Story

Avinash had a spring in his step today. He had come to office after 100 days. The lock-down was over weeks ago, but he remained in isolation for quite some time, even after that. He was scared of stepping out, of catching the virus. Fearful of people, groups and crowds in general. The period of isolation though, was not entirely futile. He read many self-help books and motivational articles. He connected with lot of his friends on video calls, friends he hadn't talked to for ages. He had learned to roll out fresh pasta with his hands. 

This stretch of isolation was not all roses. There were times, when he had self doubt, when he felt low or just stared vacantly at the ceiling of his cushy bedroom for hours.  But it was his work, that always brought him back to normal. He is a creative designer and he had kept certain hours dedicated every day to work from home. This work of his, provided some sense of normalcy to him in this time of chaos. And of course, the regular delivery of groceries by his neighborhood store - contact-less delivery - kept him alive. 

He became a regular on this particular dating app too. It was fun for him. From behind his phone screen he could pretend to be anybody. There was no real risk of a real meeting or he thought so! A very beautiful, sapiosexual (almost everyone on the app had used this adjective to describe themselves) girl finally forced him to come out of his self imposed imprisonment. 

He had a date today after office. He finally had decided to start afresh and not be fearful of the invisible enemy. 

He had a spring in his step today. A mask on his face. A bottle of sanitizer in his hand. Confident to face the world. As he sat in his cabin, working on his laptop, he dialed the number of pantry in his office. He ordered for a strong coffee. After some time, the coffee was brought in by the new pantry boy. Avinash inquired about Santosh, his favorite pantry boy, who made the world's best coffee. His face fell when he heard about Santosh's death caused due to virus outbreak in his locality. He is survived by his wife and a young son. Avinash made a mental note to send some money to them. 

He sipped his coffee. It had gone a bit cold. He perked up thinking of his evening date.

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Lock-down Blues. I intend to write and talk about how I deal with it, what it inspires me to read or watch or any aspect of it which fascinates me. You can read the theme reveal post here. 

Previous Challenges : Letter A

2017: Away

2018: Amazing things that my ten year old self would find miraculous today

2019: Award ceremonies in Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood