Paradise on Earth

/ Doug Jacquier

This piece was written for the 6 sentence story challenge with the prompt word of ‘Distance’

For Gerald, the plague represented a blessing from on high, rather than a sign of God’s punishment of a sinful, unrepentant world, as posited by some parishioners at his local church (at least the ones who weren’t positing that it was a hoax). He was in a state of bliss at not having to travel with crowds of BO-venting people on the bus and train to the office where he worked and not having to listen to his colleagues inane prattle about football, TV, children and social media. Annoyingly, he did have to acquire a laptop so he could ‘attend’ the odd virtual meeting but he counted that as a minor expense in the grand scheme of things that comprised the nirvana of isolation. Home-delivered groceries did away with the living hell of negotiating supermarkets, which in turn led him to the ever-expanding universe of on-line shopping and (ahem) certain other activities. As a nominal Christian, he felt a little guilty that he occasionally prayed for the plague to last forever, now that he had found Paradise on Earth, but he knew that some bright spark would ruin everything eventually by coming up with a vaccine. In the meantime, he reveled in what others reviled, namely, keeping his distance.

27 thoughts on “Paradise on Earth”

  4. I considered going this direction for my post, but took a different path. I am fine with continuing to keep my distance. It is a small price to pay to hopefully stay COVID free.

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  9. Good Six
    There are some of us for whom the masking and distancing did not present itself as a burden. (I often thought, ‘Well, given how many time my mother told me to take my hand way from my face, it makes it impossible to understand what I’m saying…’ training! for a distant future of speaking through a mask!)

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  10. I have to say it–I LOVE this!!! I can’t count the times I’ve privately reveled, as a recluse, in the mandate to “shelter in place” (at home)…no more defending what others think is “odd” or a form of mental illness. I know most of the world is itching to get out and about again…but I’ll still be hunkered down in my little Paradise 🙂 Wonderful story–thanks much, and a Very Happy and Healthy New Year to you!! ❤

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  12. How true, I know of more than a good few people who feel this way and unlike the hermits of old in their caves we can withdraw from the world and still enjoy its comforts. Who would have imagined seeing the new year in on Zoom this time last year?

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