Page 87 - Musings 2021

had changed. The buttons at the traffic lights had become holographic so that no one had to
touch them. There was also a hand sanitizer dispenser at every traffic light, which used
motion sensors to dispense the sanitizer. I had passed petrol pumps that people did not
operate but instead sensed when a car was near, used voice commands to determine what
kind of fuel to put automatically and automatically filled up the vehicles. It was nothing short
of spectacular. I also saw that there were shields covering strollers and would electrocute
anyone who tried to touch the baby. I was looking to find normalcy in this new world that
seemed almost alien to me. I thought I had seen the back of a police officer’s uniform and
called out to him, only to be greeted by a robot that reminded me a lot of Eva from WALLE.

After being stared at by so many people, I felt relieved when I saw a sign at the end of the
road that said “Get SCBA kit here!” and I followed the path.

At the end of this path, there was a robot who promptly handed me an SCBA kit. I found a
mask for Mom, Dad and the girls, so I picked those up and started making my way to Target.
The only thing normal about this post-coronavirus world is that Target is where it used to be.
When I reached Target, I couldn’t believe my eyes - there was no big fight in the parking lot
for space. Believe it or not, I could see empty parking spaces!

As I walked toward the store entrance, all I hoped for was that nothing much had changed
about the store. Well, I was in for a surprise, because I stepped in and it was like walking into
a new world altogether. There were queues to use computers to input orders that robots would
then bring over to you to prevent lots of people from touching the items. I couldn’t believe
this was the Target that I’d come to every weekend with my dad before the lockdown. As I
was standing in the queue, I realised how many technological advancements we had missed.
Everyone stared at me as I pulled out my iPhone X, and I felt so outdated. It seemed like
everyone now had the iPhone XX. After waiting in the queue for about fifteen minutes, it was
my turn to place an order. I figured out how to operate the computers to place my orders, paid
and walked out. With bags in hand, I started walking out of the store and made my way
home. Once I reached home and showed my sisters all the treats I had gotten them, I made
my way up to my room to get ready to meet my friends. I had gotten a few new clothes while
I was at Target, so I put them on and while I was combing my hair, started thinking about
what it would be like. We were in our last year of school, and I hadn’t seen them since 7th
grade - was it going to be awkward or like I had just seen them yesterday? Were they going to
tell me they missed me or single me out as the weird kid whose parents made him live in a
bunker for five years?

Trying to block these thoughts, I made my way out of the door and to the park we had
planned to meet in. I think it’s going to take some more time to get used to this new lifestyle -
once I left the house, I was astonished for the first time.

I met my friends Kevin and Mark, and gosh, in the beginning, it was awkward. We hadn’t
seen each other in five years and had kept in touch only through messaging apps and the
occasional Skype call. There was a lot of nervousness and meaningless pleasantries were
exchanged. As we started talking though, it became a lot less awkward. I found out Kevin has
plans to apply to Columbia, while Mark has already been awarded a football scholarship at
NYU. I also found out Kevin has been dating my 6th-grade crush, Maria, since 9th grade and
she is applying to Columbia too, to be with him. They wanted to hear all about my time in the
bunker, and I rambled on about how it was to live in a bunker for five years.

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