It all started on Thursday when I felt the presence of virus inside me. My throat was going sore as swallowing became progressively difficult. I performed breathing exercise that I had learned from Yoga for Dummies. The air passage did not seem to be blocked. Oxygen and Carbon dioxide exchanged the greetings freely inside my nasal cavity. So, I brushed off the sore throat as a symptom of some random dust particle attached to my tonsils.
Inside me the lone virus, which I had contracted when the air borne creature crash landed in my throat, was rebooting its operating system. With its helical structure and tentacles like Mohawk spikes, it was attached to my epithelial cell in the respiratory cavity. Programmed in Visual D++ it quickly decoded my cell structure. Next it launched the switch-off protein software signaling the initiation of “apoptosis” (death of the cell) or Apocalypse of my respiratory cell. Soon, functional and structural abnormality of my cell increased. Nucleic acid synthesis followed by release of enzymes led to sloughing away of my mucus producing cell. Virus, having destroyed my cell, started assembling its clone in the plasma walls. The replica emerged out and looked at its mirror image. Duo rubbed their spikes in hi five motion on a mission accomplished.
As Friday approached my nose, which has been performing respiration calmly, started running. Although, at work, I did not feel any decrease in my energy level. But my nose was running consistently. Only if I had the same capacity in my legs I could have completed Chicago Marathon. I did attempt to dry up at the same pace. Never before Puffs tissue had found themselves so useful to a human’s life. One clone after another was conquering the cells in this Virusian attack. The colony needed additional space for the clones. For their consumption, in my respiratory tract, there was abundant of the epithelial cells. The genetically remastered action of Virus continued with precise perfection that could embarrass even the best of gymnasts. Olympic judges would have given perfect ten if they could observe the workmanship of this eight gene segmented creature.
Virusian colony had established multiple posts inside my air duct. I swallowed, peppermint flavored, Altoids to get some instant relief. Peppermint acted like tear gas on rowdy protestors. It would freeze the virus for few seconds. Once the effect was over they would resume from where they left. I continued to throw in peppermint bombs, but the Virusians were determinant. They held on to their stations. By evening fever started knocking on my door. I was shaking chills, and the colony was cloning at a faster rate.
The inflammation inside me had already signaled my brain. My White Blood Cells were marching anti-bodies towards the lungs. The attack of clones has begun the Virusian war. As I slipped into the bed, Friday night, the war intensified. My White Blood Cells lost many anti-bodies. Virusians were winning. I envisioned them as performing a victory dance every time they increased occupation of territories inside my body. Thus, making it difficult for me to sleep. I popped in a flu-gel tablet, to assist my anti-bodies. Gel did put the Virusians in suspended motion. Relief was temporary, enough to give Virusians and myself some sleep.
I was also determined to fight although I underestimated the power of Virusians. I popped in flu tablets every six hours but the symptoms remained. Often I would get the energy to get up and do some housekeeping. But overall my energy level remained low. Every time I mustered some strength to either cook something for lunch or check my emails, Virusians came back with heftier attack forcing me to lie down. The saga continued throughout out the afternoon. Tiered, I decided to camp down in front of television, to get some distraction from constant drumming of Virusians. NCAA basketball matches gave me company for a while, but when I started getting blurry on the scores I knew this day has been won over by enemies.
Six hour schedule of my flu tablet needed additional armor. I added household remedy to my arsenal by mixing Pure honey with ginger powder. Constantly rotating over the counter medicine and my mixture did help me bring the nose to breathing state again. But the temperature did not budge. My brain had been battling the war remotely as it sent troops after troops of anti-bodies. I decided to bundle up and call the support line of Sleep Fairy. My brain needed full concentration of its resources to fight the all out war from Aliens. While Virusians were targeting to reach my lungs, I targeted sleep.
Eventually my brain organized all hands on the deck to battle the clones. The flu gel collected in my blood stream, the ginger powder with honey in the form of a sticky bomb and scores of anti-bodies all battled the terrain of my air duct very close to the lungs. Gradually, my body increased the perspiration. I knew White Blood Cells were finally winning over. This day victory was mine. Many Virusians lost the ground and were flooded out.
Monday morning I had restored my energy level although there were some reminiscence of light temperature. I was happy and confident that I warded off the Virusians attack over the weekend. As, I stepped in the office, apparently, I was not the only one who had the system downtime this weekend. Everyone from office was speaking through his or her nose. It seems Virusian attack was large, spread over the Chicago-land. It had triggered the insurgence all over. I may have won the weekend battle, but the clones were already gathering inside the office environment.
As I restarted my computer, I wondered, what if our brain was configured with a reset button. We could then shutdown and restart ourselves to a previous state. I envied my computer for being immune to the Virusians. But then, may be, it was a conspiracy between Virusians and computers to take a day off from all of us…