One Last Call
Author: RK, 20 years old female, Lebanon
I started that day with the news that two of my beloved family members are suspecting to have COVID-19, I knew it was not going to be my day the second I opened my eyes. I tried to lift up my spirit as much as possible in order to continue the day with a smile and be productive. When the explosion happened later that afternoon, I was sitting on bed with my roommate editing a video for a composition and I personally was talking to my family through a video call. I usually twitch a lot so whenever the explosion happened, and the bed was shaking everyone thought it was me but in fact it was not even close to the jolting I usually cause. Few seconds after the bed has shaken, we heard the explosion sound and the explosion faded taking with it the picture of the family and the place I acquire my strength in such moments. Within a fraction of a second, I saw myself unconsciously shouting "run, run" and racing the time to get out of my room and go to a glass-free space. I only realized that I was not wearing my hijab when I was surrounded by my male friends. I saw one of my friends hiding her hair under a bed sheet and so I asked if I can share the sheet with her. I was shaking from head to toe and holding my mobile so tightly hoping the internet would work again and I would be able to see my family one more time before the next explosion (I thought they are many). At that moment I felt as if it is the end of the world and we are going to die any second now as I was staring at the glass from my university’s windows surrounding me. It was traumatizing how everyone was counting their friends to see if anyone is missing up. I was receiving phone calls from numerous family and friends to check up on me but I was too traumatized and crying my heart out so I couldn’t answer any. It was my first time experiencing such an incident. I felt emotionally and physically tired but thankfully I was able to survive the day with the love and support I received from everyone around me.