In her own words: “This is how the pandemic saved our planet – and our dreams”

Once upon a time, the people on earth lived together in a large global village, and the world seemed like a giant electronic screen through which we used to communicate with others and watch what was going on around us, although this screen was obscuring our features, our laughter, and our tears.

My little grandchild let me tell you more about the world as it was 50 years ago, and what changed its path forever.

Our world was developed, but it was bizarre and turbulent. In the same neighborhood that we live in today, there was a large garden where birds, rabbits, cats, and small ants lived, and embraced a hundred species of colorful flowers. But that garden was sad, as its birds would land on the windows of the children's rooms every day and tweet for them to play with them. But they were too fascinated by electronic games; small screens that had no smell or color, but which were their favorite world.

Every morning, the father would go to work with his luxury car and would come home late and tired. He would buy a lot of expensive toys for his children, but every time, he forgot to hug and kiss them. We were surrounded by green farms, and we had all the nutrients needed to prepare a delicious meal at home, but we were choosing fast food, because we did not have time to cook.

The boys forgot how to ride a bike, how to kick a ball, how to race, how to find out who runs the fastest, and who gets to the top of the hill first?

We were flying into the sky on planes like hawks, driving cars faster than cheetahs, and we would get everything we wanted with just one click.

Despite all of this, we were not happy, but rather we were looking for happiness. And in a turbulent world, happiness was only an illusion.

One day, we woke up as usual, we looked through the window, and saw a strange thing going on. The streets were empty except for some people wearing masks and gloves and ran scared to their homes.

In the news, they were talking about an aggressive virus called "corona", which is dark red in color, and has many crowns, and although nobody could see it, we discovered that it threatened every person living on this planet.

Everyone wore medical masks to protect themselves from infection – it seemed as if it was raining with masks – and we also used sterilizers to expel this virus from us.

We hid in our homes. We did not meet anyone anymore. We isolated ourselves from the outside world. Children no longer went to their schools, nor did parents go to their work. In what seemed like just one moment, everything changed.

Coronavirus was very scary. Nobody liked it, it made us lose a lot, and it caused pain for us, especially for families who lost loved ones. But do you know, my grandson, that we also learned a lot? Thanks to this virus, we were able to save humanity and the planet before it was too late, which has allowed the world to continue to this day.

Before the virus spread, we were selfish and only cared about our own wellbeing, to the point where we didn't preserve the planet we live on. We were wiping out biodiversity, we set up huge factories, we used so many of our world’s resources, all just for ourselves.

The rain was falling from the sky pure, so instead we made it fall laden with chemical residues from our factories. The fish, birds, and whales that you love settled in their stomachs the plastic waste that we threw into the sea. And the turtles thought the plastic bags were jellyfish, so they swallowed them and died. As for the algae and marine plants, they could not withstand the pollution, so they wilted. Fishing nets around the salmon meant they no longer reproduced.

As for the wild animals, they escaped from humans and hid because we did not treat them well. Rather, we hunted them and attacked their homes in the forests.

But when the coronavirus spread, and when we hid in our homes and quarantined, our planet was able to breathe. The animals emerged from their hiding places without fear, the turtles crawled towards the shores, eagles and birds flew in an unpolluted space, the fish multiplied, the creatures around us became free. All of this happened while we were looking for something that would ease the feeling of isolation in our homes.

When we searched, we found so much, we found the warmth of the family that we missed. We started playing more, learning more, kneading bread, and making pizza ourselves, picking vegetables and fruits with our hands, playing music.

We began to hug our children more, and we learned the value of appreciation. We applauded the doctors and nurses, who turned into heroes, and children replaced the characters in their superhero games with these people.

One day, years later, the sun shone on the planet carrying hope. All the people of the earth went out from their homes into the streets and celebrated, threw masks in the air, shook hands and hugged each other. We all celebrated the disappearance of the coronavirus, after scientists found a cure for it.

Since then, we have stuck to what the pandemic taught us. It motivated us to save our planet, and to save ourselves from isolation. and we made a huge leap toward being better.

Imagine, my grandson, that the garden that was in our neighborhood here was filled with the laughter of children who followed the birds with joy and watched the flowers grow, and the ants transported wheat grains and hid them in their dwelling under the dirt.

They played a lot, got dirty, tired, and fell into a deep sleep, just as you now, fell asleep in my arms while listening to this bedtime story. A story that would not be complete without the human ability to make huge change in the world.

My little boy, sleep quietly now, with no fear, because we live in a safe time, without pandemics. Dream big and believe that we all have the power to make all our dreams come true.