“All aboard!”, the conductor shouts and the train hoots announcing it’s imminent departure. On board all the passengers are the silver haired. All smiling toothless smiles and gazing at you with their sage eyes. This is the Death Express and it’s conductor is Corona. Corona is here to inflict on us once again, what the Pied Piper did so many years ago. Piper took away our children and left us in shock. For days, we stared at abandoned toys and empty playgrounds, wishing those tiny angels back. We wept for days but to no avail because by then the Piper had taken them aboard his boat and sailed on to other islands, far far away.
It took every last iota of strength and all our remaining youth to forget that haunting day . Just as we were beginning to relax a little, lower the guard and breathe freely, Corona appeared.
He is just as lethal as the Pied Piper but Corona is looking at our parents and grand parents. He wants to cut off our other arm, break the other leg and take away our last safe haven. For years, the sweet serenity of their graceful presence took away all our worries and fears with a gentle smile. Like a magnificent tree in whose shade even the most scalding summer sun cannot burn, they shielded us from experiencing the pains of life. They held us in their arms, that although wrinkled and aged, still have the power to keep us safe in the darkness. Corona wants to take them home with him – his home up in the sky.
The track runs all the way from Earth to the heavens and the train once started will not stop till it has reached it’s destination. The wheels are slowly churning into motion, and the train inches into motion. All of us middle-aged people stand at the platform, helplessly watching as Corona waves the flag and commences his journey on the Death Express and is taking our seniors with him. This moment is reminiscent of the day we watched the Pied Piper sail away with our children. As we did that day, once again we watch on – helplessly watch them leave!
And when we go home this time, there will be no safe haven, no loving arms to shield us from the pain of our loss.
Airak 