“Mumma tell me a story” said my 13 year old.

“I haven’t read a story book in a while.” I replied.

“Then create a story now and tell me” she demanded.

So at that moment, I created this story. My daughter and husband loved listening to this. I hope you’ll love it too. So here you go….

*****

Once upon a time in a faraway land in the family of germs there lived four siblings. They were named as Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa and Virus.

Bacteria were tiny single celled organisms. Some of them were harmful and some of them were useful. The Fungi was a multi celled plant like organism. The Protozoa was a one celled organism bigger than the Bacteria. He loved moisture a lot.

The Virus was very different from his siblings. The virus was small. He wasn’t a full cell. Instead he was just a genetic material, a DNA or RNA packed inside a protein coating. He grew up listening to his siblings, “The Virus is so blessed. He needs a host to live and so he cannot be killed.”

As he heard this, he thought to himself, ‘I am powerful and I cannot be killed. Wow! What a boon!’

One day he saw Bacteria cry.

“What happened? Why are you crying?” he asked.

“The humans, they are so intelligent. They have created anti-bacterial products which are the cause of my death. I can’t venture out and move freely. I’m scared” replied Bacteria.

“Oh…they also have prepared anti-fungal injections which kill me” said a worried Fungus.

“It’s better that we stay here instead of going out.” advised Protozoa.

“Why should we be scared of the humans? I’ll venture out. I’m powerful and remember I cannot be killed.” said the Virus and began to hunt for his hosts.

He looked out for people who were elderly, with a weak immune system, people who had illnesses and slowly started spreading to healthy individuals. As he kept spreading Bacteria was worried.

“Virus, you are going too far….this could lead to your end.” said Bacteria.

“My end…hahahaha! I think you’ve forgotten my brother, I cannot be killed.” replied Virus.

********

That night in a distant village, in a tiny hut, next to a large window, comfortably sitting on her bed, Parvathi was reading her favourite Science book while her family watched the news. Parvathi didn’t like this behaviour of her family.

‘What is there in the news?’ she thought to herself.

‘It’s all about problems- a murder here and a theft there’

As a Math lover, Parvathi believed in the power of solutions. She felt that all problems could be solved.

“Amme” she heard her grandmother yell. She ran to the living room and saw the worried faces of her family.

“What happened?”

“Look at the news” her grandmother pointed towards the T.V.

Parvathi sat there as the reporter announced the spread of the virus in the country.

“What will happen now? We all will die?” asked her younger brother

“No. Nothing like that” replied her dad.

Little Parvathi looked at her younger brother, Raju and said, “This Virus seems to be like the demons from the mythological stories. He’s got this boon, that he cannot be killed. What happens to such demons Raju?”

“Oh the demons, they…umm…they…umm… a god comes and kills the demons. Paati always says that god is more powerful than any demon.” replied Raju.

“But this Virus cannot be killed” Paati said.

“Yes Paati, but I had read in my Science book that it can be disintegrated. When we wash our hands with soap, foam is formed and in that foam the protein coating of the virus falls off and then it decays. So we’ve to keep washing our hands properly. We should cover our nose and mouth when we sneeze or cough. This was we could stop the spread of this virus.”

Parvathi had just finished telling this when the reporter announced a complete lockdown.

“What is this lockdown?” Paati asked.

“Paati when Raju misbehaves what do you do?”

“I tell him to sit in a corner till he apologizes and behaves properly.”

“Yes, the Virus is misbehaving now and by announcing the lockdown, we will make the virus sit alone till he learns to behave. We will all be safe at home, while the Virus will be in isolation. When he doesn’t get any host he will disintegrate.” Parvathi said, with a wide smile on her face.

“Yay!” little Raju started jumping.

“Isolate the Virus. That’s a powerful statement Parvathi.” said her dad, as he kissed her forehead. “Where do you get such ideas from?”

“Oh! It’s from the books that I read Appa. Thank you for gifting me these books. I learn so much from them.” she said.

Parvathi’s dad took her message to the village Panchayat and immediate orders were placed, tests were conducted, relief measures were taken, a team of health workers were brought in and funding was set up. Parvathi was so happy to watch the news that now spoke about solutions.

********

Somewhere in space, trying hard to float, the Virus thought of his elder brother Bacteria’s words, “You are going too far….this could be your end.”

Yes his end was near. Humanity won. The Virus had underestimated the power of humans. Staying at home, washing hands and sanitizing the surroundings, humans had proved that they were the intelligent species and that they could adapt to any challenging situation.

The Virus had no host now and without a host he couldn’t survive. Slowly the last coating of protein fell off and he decayed. What he thought was a boon actually turned out to be a curse.

-Written by Gayatri Aptekar

*******

How was the story? Did you enjoy reading it? Would you want me to do a narration of this story? Would you want me to perform this one? What are your thoughts?

Let the conversation begin in the comment box.

Love & Light,

Gayu