The alarm went off. It was 8am. The sunlight blinded me between the curtains that I forgot to shut the night before. I stumbled out of bed and washed up, listening to the blaring of the morning news on the TV downstairs. The big topic was the same as it had been these last few weeks, and I only had to hear the one name to confirm it.
But today was different. The reporter had a different tone as he spoke. I couldn't hear what he said, but sounded more urgent, more concerned. As I shut off the water and dabbed my face with a towel, I realized why when I heard him say what we all had been dreading to hear.
"The mayor of this city has ordered a full city lockdown."
That was when I heard a loud noise downstairs. I ran down the steps as quickly as I could.
I arrived in the kitchen to find a mug scattered on the tiles. The coat closet by the door was forced wide open as Jou hurried to put on his medical coat. His mask hung around his neck as he bent down to dig for his shoes.
"Jou," I said, seeing the panic in his eyes as he muttered to himself about his shoes. "JOU."
"Not now," he replied urgently. "I have to get to the ER. They've had tons of staff call outs and the waiting room is jam-packed."
"Settle down, Jou," said Gomamon who appeared at his other side.
"I can't! Dammit, where are my shoes?!"
Jou was panicking. I was panicking. We saw this lockdown coming. We prepared for it. But how could we ever be ready for it?
I took a deep breath, and I bent to Jou's side, putting my hand over his to stop him.
"Breathe, Jou," I said, knowing that I needed to hear it, too. "You'll get there. You're going to help a lot of people."
"I'll do what I can."
I felt his shoulders relax, and I could tell he calmed down a little. Scanning the pile of shoes at the bottom of the closet, I spotted the exact pair that he had been scurrying to find and handed it to him.
"Go be a hero," I told him. It made him chuckle, and he squeezed my shoulder before standing up to put his shoes on.
Then, after he adjusted his coat and lifted his mask over his mouth, he headed out, shutting the door behind him.
"He'll be alright," Gomamon said.
"Yeah. He will be."
I smiled and picked Gomamon up, holding him tightly. But I felt my eyes water, and I knew that my expression was the opposite of how I really felt.
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Thank you for reading and thank you for commenting! Everything is weird right now. But I hope you're all safe and hanging in there.
