Pandemic paranoia

My residential place is in propinquity with girls’ PG flats, around which plenty of personable young guys perpetually patrol around, possibly with ploys to meet up with pretty girls. Now, once these lasses get ensnared in their love-net, the loitering frequency increases. Amusedly, these girls, albeit in love, seem to avoid amorous chats with them, apparently due to this awful virus.

Recently, a guy was garrulously gushing about being with a girl. Call it tough luck, some teensy dust-specks must have traversed into his nostrils, thereby the twitching and triggering terrible sneezes. The belle, who until then, was burbling with bountiful love, suddenly got bewildered, and began biting her nails to button up all her angst. Her biting intensity looked like, had anyone been beside her, she would have borrowed their nails, and bitten them off to bits! The hapless guy soon got the hint and hurriedly left in a huff.

Talk of human’s hypochondriac traits! A friend keeps mentioning of her lousy neighbour, who loves to latch onto lengthy loquacious chats over their long boundary wall. Recently, during such chattering sessions, my friend who had just then crammed food into her mouth started coughing because it got caught in her throat. Lo! Her neighbour, in a trice, had vamoosed into thin air! In fact, I know few folks who are so horribly hypochondriac that even on hearing a sneeze or cough over the phone, in a jiffy, they would have cut the call off!

Indeed, people are pretty scared to even sneeze in public places in present times. Even if they sense one, say, while on a relaxed stroll on roads, you see them rushing behind real big tree-trunks. If they are driving, desperately ducking under the vehicle’s dashboard. Just to hide that horrendous sneeze or cough. The culpability of cruel crime-committer can be condoned with compassion. But, a cough or sneeze by a compatriot...Never! Certainly, it’s considered with contempt.

Paradoxically, one can find positives even amidst perilous pandemic times! Like, think of baleful situation, with bad-tempered senior, bellowing at you in belligerent tone. Or, think of you, a pretty young gal, being pertinaciously gawked at by perverted oldies.

Or, think of your horrendous house-owner, harrying you over highly trifle matters. Now, cash in on this pandemic paranoia! Start producing those phoney sneezes, and pronto, you have those pesky people, persistently peeving you, petrified into pole-axed state! Silver linings in dark clouds, right?