It was the second Monday after the lockdown was taken off the town. Millie woke up early in the morning by hearing the barking of her pet dog 'Scooby' as usual and walked to her garden bench with a warm cup of coffee in her hand. She was always on time to the bench when the sun rose. It was so pleasing to be back to the usual lifestyle and have morning coffee while enjoying the sunrise, the lovely neighbours' morning rituals, and the beauty of nature. Scooby loved to be outdoors as well. While Millie was having her coffee, Scooby stretched herself and ran around the garden like a toddler enjoying the early morning vibes. Millie took her own time to finish the coffee enjoying Scooby's playfulness and slowly walked back into the house when the sun was getting brighter and warmer.
As she walked into the house, she noticed the calendar showing the date of today circled in red. It was the day; the last day of her university life. She sighed with closed eyes. Life at university started playing off in her mind like a movie. She opened her eyes when she felt tears streaking down her cheeks slowly. Those were the best days of her life. The days she actually lived her life rather than just existing. The beautiful days she spent with the love of her life. Millie started remembering every single thing that happened within these four years. She almost cried out loud. Then she quickly stepped into the kitchen and washed her coffee mug and cleaned the coffee maker. Then she filled Scooby's food container with his favourite biscuits and started cleaning the whole house knowing if she had a nap she would end up crying for hours.
"Starting from the kitchen"
She spoke to herself. Yes, Millie often speaks to herself when she's taking any kind of decision; even the smallest ones like when she starts cleaning the house. It was a habit of hers since she started living alone. Millie was left all alone when her parents died in a car crash the two years before. It took all her strength to get back on her feet after the traumatic car accident her parents faced.
She started cleaning the kitchen by washing the countertop. Then she cleaned the other stuff and mopped the kitchen floor quickly. She left the kitchen after keeping two eggs and two sausages on the countertop for her breakfast. Then she cleaned up and mopped the whole house within one and a half hours.
After cleaning the whole house, Millie took a good book and arranged the bathtub for a soothing and relaxing bath. She also didn't forget to light some candles to make the bath aromatic. Millie spent almost an hour in the bath having a great time reading the book and listening to some soothing music. Surprisingly, Scooby had his own little bathtub as well. He too enjoyed the long bath listening to the soothing music and being surrounded by a nice fragrance.
She changed herself into comfortable clothing and started making her breakfast. She started cooking the eggs and the sausages while the bread was in the toaster. Once everything was cooked perfectly she moved to the dining table and poured a glass full of orange juice. That was when Millie remembered she had to bake some chocolate chip cookies for the batch party arranged for the last day of the university. It was only 9 o'clock when she checked the time and she had time to bake the cookies. Scooby was having his morning nap and Millie skipped the lazy morning part for a day. Millie slowly had breakfast and went into her bedroom to write down the 'to-do' list of the day.
• clean the house
• bake cookies
• pack the gifts for friends and lecturers
• pay the graduation fee
• buy groceries
• walk Scooby
• start a bullet journal
She ticked off the first task and laid down on the bed thinking of the day ahead at the university. After spending half an hour in bed she came back to the current moment with the sudden jump of Scooby on her belly. She cuddled him for a little while and headed back to the kitchen to make the chocolate chip cookies. Millie started to make the cookie dough once everything needed was assembled on the kitchen countertop. She made the basic cookie dough and added the dark chocolate chips to it and mixed everything. While the cookies were baking, Millie ironed her clothes which were kept aside for the batch party. Once the cookies cooled down, she packed them in an airtight box and put them into her bag. She dressed up in her favourite outfit and dolled herself up with some nice makeup and used some flowers to do her hair on this special day. She could not believe her eyes when she checked herself in the mirror. After getting everything that was needed, Millie stepped into the car and moved into the main road driving to her university.
Two of Millie's close friends had arrived when she reached the university premises. One by one everyone gathered at the party and they had a fun-filled day with lots of performances and games. Finally, it was Millie's turn to deliver the speech. Everyone at the party was embraced by the heart-touching speech that Millie made about university life. Once the party was over, Millie have the small presents and said goodbye to her friends and the lecturers, and left.
On her way home, Millie bought the needed groceries and some Scooby biscuits and drove back home. Scooby was waiting for her near the door as usual. Millie sensed something different in Scoobu'a behaviour. She gave a quick glance at Scooby. She was cuddling Scooby when her phone started ringing. It was a call from a national number. Millie answered the call.
"Hello!
Can I speak to Miss. Millie please?"
"Yes! Millie speaking.
May I know who is this?"
Millie was not expecting any calls or messages.
"This is from the national health service ma'am.
You have taken a test for covid19 and the results are positive.
So, you are entitled to two weeks of self-isolation on your ma'am."
"Oh okay.
What do I have to do?"
"We will be visiting you tomorrow morning to inform you about the process.
Please lock yourself in the house and do not step outside ma'am.
Thank you!
Have a nice day!"
"Thank you!
You too have a nice day"
The officer who spoke through the phone was a kind man, so he briefly explained everything and hung up. Millie started panicking for a moment. She could not lock herself up inside the house. And it's for two whole weeks. She hugged her knees and sighed. The clock ticked 5 o'clock and she slowly went through the grocery bag she brought today. There were only a few items she had bought.
Scooby ran towards her as if she felt something is going on. Millie cuddled Scooby for a little and arranged the groceries in her kitchen. She also checked what are the things she had to buy for two weeks of quarantine. When her work was done, she slowly made herself some dinner and had a quick wash until the casserole was baking.
Millie was looking at the clock for a while thinking about how she is gonna spend the upcoming two weeks without even stepping out of the house to the garden. She would not be able to take Scooby for walks either. Then she jumped on the bed with a nice book so she can distract herself until she falls asleep.
She had so many questions in her mind.
"What am I gonna do these days?
How am I gonna get the needed things?
What will I do to Scooby?
...
Oh my my.... the graduation
The great thing is that it is after two weeks.
I have to face this.
I am strong."
Millie yawned several times thinking about these questions and her quarantine of fourteen days. Finally, she fell asleep earlier than ever with the book on her chest. Scooby wandered around the house a little more and slept on her bed when she realized Millie is asleep too.
Nobody knows what tomorrow might bring into their lives.