CHAPTER ONE
Everyone calls it a river.
It looks like one. It is not a river. That fact doesn’t change things. That’s the way it is.
Everyone calls it a river.
The water flowed with that undeniable force of nature. It wasn’t violent or angry. Just a gray undulating mass set to go where it wanted. Mesmerizing. Wave peaks and troughs mixed in with swirling eddies. The sun was shining. The river flowed. Sunlight bounced off the edges and curves in the water.
The boy looked to be about 10 or 11. His father maintained the look, from afar, of a much younger man. Sturdy. Fluid in his movements. They seemed happy as they walked along the shore.
An older couple coming the other way smiled and lifted their hands to their chins and then, further, up over their noses. The boy’s father returned the gesture. All smiled. Pleasantries were exchanged.
“Why do people do that?” the child asked.
“What?” replied the father.
“When you pass people put their hand over their face.”
“Oh, that’s from the 20s pandemic, before you were born,” he said with a glance to see the boys reaction. “We wore masks to protect each other. But we mostly didn’t wear them outside. Well… Sometimes we did, in crowds, but usually people took them off or pulled them down. Then, out of respect or maybe it was good manners - either way - we’d pull them up when we got close to each other, outside. So they are covering their nose and mouth like a mask would. It’s like a tip of the hat. ”
“Hat tip?” questioned the boy.
“Hats, yes. People wore fancy hats once. You’d pinch the brim and tip it as a friendly gesture,” he answered with a widening smile as mimicked the act.
“Did masks work?”
“It worked against the disease, but it showed us another sickness.” The smile faded from his face. He regretted not just saying yes.
The boy seemed content with that answer, and the father was happy their walk wasn’t interrupted by needing to explain the other “sickness.” He had dealt with that affliction enough. The boy was a bit young.
After a few steps the boy softly said, “is that why they started the patrol?”
“Patrol?” Looking down the father asked, “You mean The Home Guard?”
“Yeah, was that to protect us? Did you protect people?”
“Yes. Yes it was and yes, I did.”
“Tell me about it?”
“I will… one day.”
CHAPTER TWO
In the waning days of the Covid-19 pandemic before…