#panemic

आठ वर्षदेखि यातायात व्यवसायमा सक्रिय बागलुङ नगरपालिका–३ गुठीका नारायण खड्कालाई कोरोना महामारी बज्रपात बनेर आयो । निरन्तररूपमा

आठ वर्षदेखि यातायात व्यवसायमा सक्रिय बागलुङ नगरपालिका–३ गुठीका नारायण खड्कालाई कोरोना महामारी बज्रपात बनेर आयो । निरन्तररूपमा यातयात क्षेत्रमा लगानी गर्दै आउनुभएका उहाँलाई महामारीले निकै पिरल्यो । एक यात्रुवाहक बस र माइक्रोबस सञ्चालन गर्दै आउनुभएका उहाँले कोरोनाको दोस्रो लहरसम्म किस्ता तिर्नै नसक्ने अवस्था आएपछि यातायात क्षेत्रबाटै पलायन हुनुभयो । उहाँले निकै घाटामा आफ्ना सवारीसाधन बिक्री गरेर ऋण…

We are entering an interesting time when we all must learn how to live with this virus. It is hard to know when this virus will subside or if it will always remain a threat. Unlike other crises, where a hurricane hits and leaves a trail of destruction, COVID-19 may ebb and flow, but it looks like it will be around for a long time. Hot spots will crop up, making crisis management more like whack-a-mole. We call this stage ‘adaptive recovery.’

Alert in a Time of Cholera

Sometimes if you ignore a problem, it will go away. But ignoring open defecation and fecally-contaminated water isn’t a good idea. One reason for that is cholera.

Read more. 

I'm eighteen, so this is my last year that my name will be put into the drawing for the reaping. I'm also the youngest, since Spesi died, so my family won't be able to put my name in for more tesserae after this year. This is why my mother asked me to put my name in five more times. Well, I put my name in five more times.

That was a week ago, so today I went to the tesserae station to see if my rations were in. When I got there, there was a huge crowd surrounding the door. At first I thought it was some kind of riot, but nobody was holding weapons and there weren't any bodies strewn across the ground like there were when riots did happen.

Curious, I pushed in the small spaces between people and crawled under legs till I reached the center of the ring.

In the middle, there was a crate next to a man who was guarded by two peacekeepers. His daughter, who looked a little over 10, clung to his side. Her large brown eyes were staring at the crate, gleaming with what I assumed were tears.

The man held up a box to the crowd and people started shoving paper into it. I was confused until I asked a woman standing nearby what was going on. I recognized her as someone I had worked with in the trees before.

"The man in the middle found a hen's nest near his hut, a few days ago. The hen had five chicks under her, so he decided to get people to put their children's names into the drawing by offering a chick as a prize."

"Why would he do that?" I asked.

"His daughter," I must have had a confused expression because she went on, "she just turned twelve." 

I felt like I had been hit in the gut, that little thing is twelve? She wouldn't last longer than... she'd be murdered in a second! 

"There were more than five people when he first offered them and they started this huge crowd. So the peacekeepers came in to keep an eye on the situation. If you want a chance at the chicks you need to put your name in for more tesserae. If your name is called he'll trade your tesserae for a chick."

I realized then that the crate had been peeping. Something I wouldn't have noticed over the ruckus of the crowd. Someone shoved an application and pen in my hand while I was staring at the crate. It would be a good way to feed my family even after I turn nineteen... I reasoned in my head. I scribbled my name down and some other information I had filled out twenty times before. The box came to me and I shoved my paper in.

We all stood there for another hour until the names stopped being put in the box. The man looked at the peacekeepers for some guidance, one of them gave him a stern nod. He whispered to his daughter, Pomegranate (as we had learned by now) before he quickly threw all the names into the air. 

The crowd held their breath; I was caught up in the moment as well. 

Pomegranate picked five pieces randomly off the ground before handing them to her father. He read the first one aloud, "Aves... Aves Vanala!" 

I felt a burst of adrenaline rush through my veins and my legs nearly gave in... a chick! I won a chick! 

So that's how we now have Florina, the (hopefully) female chick.