It’s not just about Zika… It is any epidemic/pandemic, whether eboli, swine flu, SARS, or other public health concern.
Each week Rochelle Wisoff-Fields posts a pic to write a 100 word story about.
This week it is:
© Amy Reese
Zika Alley
Why did you bring me here?
You wanted to know what it’s like.
But nothing is here.
This is what it’s like.
But this tells me nothing.
You want to know what it was like before?
Yes.
The doors weren’t shuttered. There was life all up and down the corridor. Vendors sold everything. Stalls were filled with people. Children ran around. Mothers yelled at their kids to stay close. Merchants yelled at the mothers that their wares were the finest. Others yelled that theirs could be had for half price.
And then no one came?
They sprayed the entire neighborhood.
Randy Mazie
The Writer's Village 
😦 Oh my 😦
yes, oh my… Randy
Wow. Scary subject, but well-written.
Yes, it is scary.
And thanks for the compliment. Randy
You’re welcome! 🙂
I like this very much From the ambivalence at the beginning to the “Bam” at the end.
Thanks, Randy
I was scared to read the last line 😦
Sorry, it was meant to portray a stark reality. Not to scare you – although what we used to call “plagues” are scary.
Randy
A chilling look at the aftermath. Nice one!
Thanks. Hope not too chilling… Randy
The ending took me by surprise. Well constructed story.
Thank you.
Randy
That packed a punch at the end!
I hope a soft one, like a wake up call – and not a knock out.
Randy
There is a sense of what humanity might do “for the greater good”… chilling.
But we rarely do…. until the last second due to politics.
Randy
Oooo well told, a scary reality. Staying away to stay safe… What does that do to people? And what is left?
Anger with our political system for not acting quickly?
Thanks, Randy
That is scarily excellent.
scarily, thank you.
Randy 😉
Very thought provoking. Such a strong message in a short story.
I like strong messages. I like messages.
😉 Randy
Great and very chilling ending
Thank you, Randy
Dear Randy,
Frightening in the possibilities. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle.
Yes, Thanks Rochelle.
Randy
You’ve explained the starkness of this prompt chillingly.
Thanks. Randy
You capture well the idea of nothing being something … it could be an epidemic, it could be a war, it could just be economic change. Well done
Yup, we are susceptible to everything no matter how powerful we make ourselves out to be.
Randy
Well,if the spray also killed the spiders, then it’s all right!
Then the old lady dies all because of your selfishness…
There was an old woman who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don’t know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she’ll die.
Good writing, Randy. This is a country without many screens. There are several mosquito-bourne diseases making the rounds. After a large number of people have become ill and some died, I’ve noticed they’re beginning to advertise mosquito netting. We have screens on all the windows and keep spray handy. People here tend to think it happens to others. —- Suzanne