Love, The Vaccine & Other Drugs, Part 1

The pandemic has bridged us both together and apart in many ways. The biggest divide besides social isolation, death, and distance is that of moral values. The following story reflects how the moral dilemma between freedom and social responsibility has interfered in our intimate relationships.

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A Walk in the Park

Year 2020; May. Samara, 26, at home, quarantined. Opens Tinder chat with Ava, 25, whom she has been chatting with for over a month.

Samara: I’m starting to think I should paint my walls purple. Bad idea?

Ava: Haha I don’t know, it might look kind of cute.

Samara: I hate this so much I just want to meet you! I mean like in person…

Ava: I know me too!

Samara: So why don’t we?

Ava: Right, in the middle of a national lockdown… Where would we even go?

Samara: I could come over to yours, or you could come over to mine. Or we could go walk our dogs to the park.

Ava: Sam come on let’s be realistic. These are serious restrictions. We could get fined. Plus I don’t want to risk getting this screwed-up virus!

Samara: You’re telling me that going to the park with me is more dangerous than going to, say…the supermarket? Honestly, I am no reason for you to worry. All my roommates are super careful. I mean, you walk your dog every day, technically there’s risk in that too, isn’t there? But you’re not scared of that, are you?

Ava: You know it’s not the same risk Sam. Plus I don’t care how careful your roommates are, I don’t know where they’ve been or who they’ve been with.

Samara: Oh please, do you even know anyone who has Covid?

Ava: My great-aunt died from Covid last week.

Samara: Shit, I’m so sorry girl, I had no idea. You didn’t tell me.

Ava: Yeah. I know, I’m still processing everything, and talking to you has been great because it distracts me from all the shit going on in the world.

Samara: I get it. I’m here for you though.

Ava: Thanks ❤

Samara: Anyway, what I meant was any people our age. Old people are always more vulnerable. I just don’t want you to worry so much. You can’t get caught up by the 1% of people our age who get it and go to the hospital. They’re unhealthy or have other health problems already. It won’t happen to you or me. We’re young and healthy. If we all worry so much we’re going to go insane!

Ava: I don’t want to get infected, Samara. I also don’t want to put other people in danger. Don’t forget that I live with my mother.

Samara: You’re not going to get infected babe! The point is, no one in your day-to-day life is infected. You can’t worry about the millions of cases worldwide because that’s not your reality. The news always exaggerates anyways. They just want to scare people and incite chaos and calamity. The media is twisted. It always has been. It’s their way of controlling us.

Ava: Are you serious right now?

Samara: Are you serious? Come on Ava, wake up. CNN and the CDC are not reliable sources. China is hiding stuff from us, the government is hiding stuff from us, you can’t trust anyone. So, you might as well protect yourself and live your life.

Ava: Right so the pandemic is a fluke? It’s all just an evil scheme plotted by some powerful dudes who have a bigger agenda for world domination. Are you fucking kidding me? So if I believe all the different news sources out there that say this virus is about to get uglier by the minute, I am believing biased sources?

Samara: They want you to think it’s terrible, but it’s not. Otherwise, we would all be contaminated by now. Think about it. This is just their way of brainwashing you.

Ava: Where are you even getting these conspiracy theories from? What are your sources?

Samara: You just need to look past the information that’s handed to you. You have to dig and uncover what’s behind the lies they are trying to feed us.

Ava: Oh my god, we are not even having this conversation right now.

Samara: Are you seriously upset with me right now?

Ava: Oh I’m worse than upset girl. I am shook.

Samara: Whatever.