Never have I been so close.

Before this present day, I never thought about it being near me — around the corner, across the street, and staring at me all the time. I mean, a myth is a myth, right? I heard people talking about it; I heard about it all over the news. I heard about it in restaurants, stores, and at school. It seemed so real, but it was never tangible. I would have never imagined myself being a part of it, until today. 

What’s up, COVID? 

When I was told that I was a close contact with a patient who had tested positive for COVID, you might imagine that the first thing that came to my mind was fear. But, no. It was numbness. I didn’t feel afraid, nor surprised. I felt nothing, perhaps a little bit sad because I would have to quarantine. My mind was still believing that COVID was far away from me. 

Never have I been so close. 

Have you ever thought that the world in front of you might just be a story? Perhaps it is the most fantastic Hollywood movie. The news, the events taught in your history class — they might be just stories for others, stories that don’t have you in the cast. 

Never have I been so close — to others’ movies … to death … to reality.

Never have I been so close.

It was only afterward, after the phone call, after I told this to my parents, that I figured out what was happening. Then I felt the fear. I felt the reality I knew; the movies or stories that are supposed to belong to me had shattered into pieces. I am in someone else’s tale, like a meteorite colliding with the earth. 

Never have I been so close. 

No, I tell you. There’s never you, me, him, or her; there’s just the world. You never felt it because you think that it is far away from you. 

No, I tell you. The world is the invisible man. Watch out!

Never have I been so close.

Thinking about that day now, I remember lying on a bed getting a CT scan. And there it was. It was in the exact same place as me. But its owner had left it, maybe about an hour ago. I didn’t see it. I didn’t think it would be there. But it was THERE. 

Never have I been so close.

One day, you might feel this, too, and you will know precisely what I am talking about. Then, you will know that your story has just collided with mine.