They emerged from their shelters. Some more guarded than others. The younger ones, of course, were more exuberant. They shook hands, hugged and kissed and breathed in the fresh air.
I squinted into the light and adjusted my facemask with my gloved hands. We had been told it was safe to come back above ground. The virus had gone, the air was safe once more. Did I trust them this time after the mistakes that had been made before? They swore the vaccines worked this time.
We had waited another few days after they had told us it was safe. Caution stemming the desire to see daylight once more. Now I stood and squinted at the bright sky over the hills. It was a long walk back to the city, and who knows what we might find when we got there.
I set off along the track, following the others. There was hope and optimism at least. Guarded optimism.
Written for the #writephoto prompt, hosted by Sue Vincent on her blog Daily Echo. This week’s prompt word, to go with the image, was Guarded.
Iain Kelly 
That’s something every vaccine recipient has to consider, isn’t it? Personally, I think things about fertility/tracking etc is mumbo-jumbo but I do think we are yet to see the full effects of the vaccines. But, ultimately, we can choose to live in a permanently locked-down state, or…
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I’m very much in the camp of ‘just go and get the vaccine’ and stop all these mad theories. By the time it gets to me I think most people will have had it, so I’ll know if there are any side effects I need to worry about!
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This is scary close. But I love the note of hope.
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Some of it. At the moment I have faith in the vaccines we have.
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Hope is the one thing we cannot afford to lose… in spite of all the mistakes, oversights and incompetencies shown in certain quarters…
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Yes, the vaccines are the hope we’re all clinging onto at the moment.
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I think it will take a good while before their benefits are felt on the ground for the general population, sadly.
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I’m still hopeful of better times by the summer.
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I’m hoping for sooner than that…but not holding my breath 🙂
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A very hopeful story, well done.
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Thanks Mason
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you’re welcome.
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I thought you wrote fiction? Very well done.
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Haha, let’s hope it doesn’t get to this stage before the vaccines have been rolled out.
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Apt for the current times.
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Thanks Jules
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This last year has felt like a bad science fiction film. Hope is good! 🙂
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We need a little of it to keep going!
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So very apt Iain, you sound as trustful of the “experts and leaders” as I am! 💜
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The leaders especially haven’t covered themselves in glory in the past year!
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No indeed they gave not …. No where near!
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I think you pitched the mood of the story just right – cautious optimism. I’m glad there is some positivity running through the narrative.
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Every little helps at the moment.
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OH yes! To freely give hugs again, I can’t wait!!!
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It will be so nice!
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very apt, very powerful, and a bit terrifying because it is so real. I’m on the very high-risk list and awaiting a vaccine having been stuck indoors for months at a time for years, (health and mobility gubbins in an inaccessible home). I had just started getting out more in March last year, and looking to move, but we have been stuck in almost solidly since. I’ve often joked to my husband that it is a horror story waiting to happen, and you wrote it well.
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Fingers crossed things seem to be turning again with the vaccine and warmer weather coming. Hope you manage to get out soon!
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