Our corona diary.

[Text and photo by Priyakshi Sharma]

I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona… and I see a slow montage of something hopeful, something intangibly warm, from a past life.

Here’s me playing cricket with my cousins in the afternoon July sun. I am happy. Here, I am a teenager discovering the salty air and wet sand of a seashore for the first time. I see my sister brushing my hair lightly, as I hum a song under my breath. Now, my friends and I are sneaking into a class we are late for, for the third time in a week. Here is my beloved, planting a kiss on my forehead, before we part for the day. And then, I see an 11-year-old girl in pigtails – she looks like me – stressing over geometry that she doesn’t understand. I want her to paint the sun instead. Paint the sun. “The world needs light,” I want to tell her.

“We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes in my self-isolation from Corona… and I see…” Not more than 100 words. With a horizontal-sized selfie, along with your city name… please mail to me at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.