“And of Clay are We Created” – Ali Zandani

“And of Clay Are We created” is a short story based on a real event. It is about a real volcanic eruption that caused the deaths of thousands of people and one of those victims was Azucena. This event is very similar to our situation Today. After two months of quarantine and all the precautions we have taken to save ourselves and our beloved ones. Yet the number is only rising, and this pandemic is becoming part of our lives. Azucena’s suffering while being stuck in mudslide and the fact the media and people around her could not help; this relates to our lives today. Being isolated in our homes and being threatened by this deadly virus that doesn’t have a vaccine yet ,  just makes us suffer more to see old people we know and around us die with a blink of an eye and we can’t help to keep them alive. Also, we will suffer greatly after the pandemic is over because nothing will be the same again. On the other hand, screens in this pandemic play significant roles in our lives. Screens in general are a good thing to have because it helps us become aware of what is going around us and around the world. However, in this critical time, screens seem to put fear and panic in people who are being isolated in their homes. Seeing death toll increasing every time I turn my face to a screen is not something that will help me overcome this quarantine and therefore, I think screens have a bad impact in our lives today. Even Though the government did not act fast when COVID-19 started in China, they very well responded when this pandemic has spread around the states. They have resources to keep people in their homes, but they need a bigger plan to provide for those small businesses that closed during this pandemic. Most of those businesses are going out of business and that only shows that this economy will suffer a lot after this is over. I personally think that we need to have patience to overcome this critical time. We should not start going out and act like nothing is happening like I see many people on the streets. We should keep going with social distancing until this is over.