The sky was gray, clouds whisking across. The barren land held no footsteps, except mine, and the bare trees in the distance were free of the burden that they had carried through spring. I trudged through leaves and hard-packed soil, nothing around for miles except the light green bushes cowering from the hidden sun.
The earth had been forgotten, the grass unkempt. I could imagine porches containing the old grandmotherly figure, the children playing outside with their laughs and squeals. But returning back to reality forced me to remember the last sooner than I wanted. The virus, the sickness, that had killed the population still held its marks on the very ground I walked in. The laughter turned to screams,...