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Chapter I - A Letter to Humanity

Dear Humanity,

Where do I start?

I see right through you. I can see you suffering. I can see you're scared.

You're wondering when this time will pass.

You're wondering if this pandemic -- this virus, is all curse.

Can you not see that it is a gift?

Just please, I wish I could only tell you to take a deep breath and inhale.

Maybe you do not see it, because you have become selfish. So preoccupied with yourselves, that you forget those around you. Even me.

I have seen the way you run to the markets, trying to hoard everything left on the shelves, not leaving behind anything for the elders, for your neighbors, for your brothers and sisters.

I have seen the way you fight with others, over something so silly, like a pack of toilet paper, or a box of frozen waffles.

But I wish I could tell you to stop. To just take a moment and realize how we got to this point.

Oh, how you have ignored my cries for help for years.

Oh, how you have taken for granted all the resources you had.
Oh, how you have hurt me so foolishly, like it meant nothing.
Oh, how you have destroyed the beauty around you.
Oh, how you have made me suffer until I felt my lungs tighten,

wondering how much more before I stop breathing.

But then, a miracle came upon to save me. To save all of us.

This is why I am telling you that you must see this time as a gift. It is a gift for you and for me. For me, because this break is exactly what I needed to heal. This break is exactly what you needed to heal too.

You have become so preoccupied with yourselves, so selfish, that you forget what it's like taking care of others. Since school has been out, many have come to realize that the teacher was never the problem. Your children need you more than ever now. If you just take a moment and be still. Just observe and reflect. Reflect back to the time where you had complained about not being able to be with your family, where you were invested in your job, in completing all the tasks before being given the next one. Remember the times you just gave your children a device to keep them busy, so you can complete what's next on your to do list and get by? Or the times you made them sit in front of a TV and letting a cartoon be their form of entertainment. Oh humanity, what is your excuse now? What are you going to do now? What are you waiting for to change?

You have been given all this time. You have been instructed to stay inside. This is the least you can do for me. For yourself. This is probably the easiest way you can ever make a difference. You know the countless times you have dreamed of making a difference in someone's life? Saving a life? THIS is exactly that opportunity.

If you would only listen. It would make all the difference.

I know that this time feels like you are at war. But how can you compare this to anything that anyone before you has experienced?

Back then, things were different. Technology was not so advanced and people were forced and called to fight against each other. Today, you are only fighting against something the eyes can't see. Something invisible, yet this thing, this virus has made those in power, powerless. It has brought everyone to the same level. It doesn't matter anymore if you are a celebrity, because it does not discriminate. If you're lucky, you'll be spared. But it's not really a matter of luck, you also have to do your part. That way, it's not just you that you are protecting, but those around you as well.

Meanwhile all of this is happening, I am healing. I am getting the time I need to breathe. Please, let me breathe. Let me heal. Let me be.

This too shall pass. There is no need for you to be scared.

I was scared for many years.

I cried as I watched forests go wild and burst in flames.
I felt great remorse seeing animals die because of plastic pollution.

I shaked in fear every time I felt a sense of danger that will affect me.

Look at how your CO2 emissions affected the atmosphere.
Look at how your modifications to the biosphere affected the climate.
Look at how your everyday decisions has impacted me and hurt me to the point that I could no longer bare to take it. I could no longer bare the pain. I could no longer cry. I could no longer try to save you, for I have to save myself first.

So I sigh.

A sigh of relief.

And I can only urge you to be patient. Be patient, the way I have been with you for countless years when I begged you for your help so I can no longer suffer.

I urge you to listen now, for you have ignored me but now is the time that you must learn to listen. Listen when you are told to do your part. We can never unite as one planet until we become one.

I urge you to not be selfish, for if you wish to survive, then you must realize that you are not the only one on the battlefield.

I urge you to keep your distance, the way you should never approach any wildlife if you do not want them to feel like they are in danger. Because then, you put yourself at risk too.

I urge you to use the time you have been given to educate yourself and the generations to come about me and learn to become a better global citizen.

We, my friend, are all in this together.

We can get through it, but only if we stick together.

Only if we open our eyes. Only if we remain still. Only if we just stop for a moment.

Pause.

Breathe.

Remember; you need me and I need you too.

Love from your One and Only,

Planet Earth.