Healing or Just Hiding Behind a Mask?

Healing or Just Hiding Behind a Mask?

 

We smiled behind the masks for long,

 Humming hope like a quiet song.

 Now the world seems fine, but still we feel —

 Did we ever hurt enough to heal?

  

    

     COVID-19 has us turning back to our deepest nightmares — returning in a scene we never imagined it would. With cases rising once again, students are returning to fear — carrying emotional baggage we never wanted to unpack again. 

 

      No alarms this time, just coughing rooms,

      The silence louder in headline tombs. 

       Did we heal, or just forget to feel? 

        Did we cure the wound, or hide what’s real? 

      They say fear takes the form of whatever we dread the most — and just when we finally believed it was all over, that we were free, that nothing could take away our offline schooling or peaceful work-in-office routines — it all came crashing down. The new surge of our greatest foe returned, in its deadliest form yet. Some even fear it’s being used as a bio-weapon — a theory once dismissed, now returning with eerie relevance. And if that’s the case, then none of us are truly safe — not even with a mask, a sanitizer, or a vaccine. What’s truly alarming is that many of the recent victims — may their souls rest in peace — were among those who had taken the vaccines early on, right after they were launched. This raises serious concerns, especially for our loved ones. #WeNeedAnswers. 

The halls once echoed with schoolyard cheer, 

Now hum with silence, laced with fear. 

Pens are picked, but eyes still scan, 

For coughs and whispers in every plan.

 

       It all started in foreign cities like Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries — including India. With the rise of new variants of our old "foe", a group of mutations has now been collectively named the FLiRT variants. These include: 

•  KP.3.1.1 
• 24C 
• KP.3 + S:S31 
• LB.1 
• 24A 
• JN.1 + S:S31

      While some might recognize these as new forms of SARS-CoV-2, the names may sound technical and harmless — but the threat is real. These variants have already led to multiple deaths, sparking renewed concern worldwide. 

       We’re afraid we might be walking down a path we've already survived once — and maybe not everyone is ready to survive it again. So let's not fall into the same trap. Let’s follow safety like we once did, but more importantly, let’s talk. This blog marks the beginning of something new — an interview series featuring real voices and stories. In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing how people around me felt, coped, and changed during and after COVID. If your voice feels like silence elsewhere, maybe here... it might echo. If your story is waiting to be heard, leave us a sign in the comments — we’ll find a time to listen, and help the world echo with it.

ASHES OF THE AFTERMATH

We wore the masks, we wore the pain,

But did we wear it all in vain?

The world moved on — or so they say,

But some ghosts never fade away.

We smiled again — with eyes still wet,

Carrying storms we can't forget.

And if the past begins to knock,

Will we be ready for the shock?

So ask not when the healing came —

It never does, it’s not the same.

Some wounds don’t bleed, they just exist,

In poems lost and moments missed.