The year 2020 began like any other — the market still bustled with laughter, and Clara's cookies remained a small joy in the neighborhood.
But on March 11, the news changed everything.
Lily and her parents sat together in the living room, the glow of the television flickering across their faces.
The anchor's voice was calm but heavy:
> "The World Health Organization has officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic…"
Pictures flashed across the screen — hospitals, masked doctors, empty streets.
Numbers climbed higher each day.
And slowly, the world began to fall silent.
---
Lily turned toward Clara, worry clouding her face.
"Clara… people are getting sick everywhere."
Clara nodded quietly.
She didn't fully understand viruses or modern medicine, but she could feel the fear that lingered in the air — the same cold stillness she had known on the night the Titanic sank.
"Stay inside," Lily's mother said firmly. "We'll be safe here. We just have to be careful."
And so they stayed.
The city that once glittered with life became eerily quiet. The streets emptied. The laughter faded. Even the birds seemed to sing less.
---
Days turned into weeks, then months.
Clara stopped selling cookies.
The weekend market closed.
She spent most of her time cleaning, baking quietly, and helping Lily with her online lessons.
Sometimes, at night, she stood by the window and looked out at the empty roads. Streetlights glowed through the mist like distant candles.
It reminded her too much of the ocean floor — still, endless, waiting.
But this time, she wasn't alone.
---
Lily often came to sit beside her, bringing tea and her laptop.
They would watch movies together, or talk softly until morning.
"You know," Lily said one night, "I think everyone in the world feels like you did once — trapped. Waiting for everything to move again."
Clara smiled faintly. "Maybe that's why I'm not afraid. I know how to wait."
They both laughed quietly, the sound gentle against the silence of the world outside.
---
Months passed.
The news was filled with sadness, but also with stories of kindness — people helping one another, neighbors singing from balconies, families finding comfort in small things.
Clara noticed that even in fear, people still reached out for light.
It reminded her that no matter how dark the world became, humanity never stopped trying to shine.
---
And when the day finally came that Lily's parents told her they were safe — that none of them had fallen ill — Clara felt something deep inside her heart.
A warmth.
A fragile, trembling hope.
Maybe this, too, was part of living: enduring the quiet storms and still finding love at the end of them.
---
That night, Clara sat at her desk and began to write something in a small notebook Lily had given her years ago.
> "The world has changed again.
But even when time stands still, life does not stop.
It only waits — for a moment, for a breath — before beginning again."
She closed the notebook and placed it by the window, where moonlight could touch its cover.
Outside, the world slept.
And for once, Clara felt at peace within the silence.