writing our own dreamtime story
Original Dreamtime Story written in class on May 19, 2020
by Gwynnie, Jonathan, Myles & Stella
in Asheville, NC via Zoom
A Pandemic Quarantine Dreamtime Story
One solstice day in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a part-lion/part-wolf named Wolfian, rose from the ground and saw a creature it didn’t recognize and wondered what it was. A racoon-dog then fell out of the tree onto Wolfian’s head.
“What is this thing I landed on? Why is it here? I don’t care,” remarked the racoon-dog, who was known as “RD.” (His parents weren’t creative. Neither is he.)
“I just woke up and rose from the ground, and now I immediately have to deal with a fool like you!”
“What is happening around here? Nobody’s out anywhere! No one is littering! And there’s no garbage behind any restaurants!”
“It’s Covid-19, the greatest thing since 1918!” replied Wolfian.
“What makes it so great?”
“It brings peace and quiet for an old wolf-lion. I am not being disturbed. Plus, cleaner air, clearer water and views that go on for miles!”
“What started this?”
“It was either a bat or a pangolin in a marketplace in China! Someone ate it and got sick and then they traveled here and then it spread around to many people who didn’t know they had it, so they weren’t aware they were spreading it.”
“Why is everyone standing apart from each other? Aren’t we supposed to be friendly hanging around each other? Is that what they do in 2020?”
“It’s called ‘social distancing’ and it means that all people have to stand at least 6 feet apart from each other if not more.”
“So does that mean I can’t visit my friends?” asked RD.
“No, it doesn’t mean that, because you can’t contract and carry it, because you’re not a human,” Wolfian said.
“When will this place be back to normal?”
“Now that is one question I can’t answer. Normal doesn’t really exist anyway. What we used to have was the ‘usual,’ but normality isn’t real.”
A majestic looking frog then croaked, “This virus is not good for all. Beware of those in need.”
Wolfian understood and added wisely, “Indeed, but it may not be changing for a while.”
RD added, “Thank goodness. I like it this way.”
