Author's note: I would like to thank my readers for following my stories. I am always grateful for constructive feedback, that's the only way I can grow as a writer.
I would also like to thank my Volunteer Editor.
All characters are fictional and above the age of 18.
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Part 1
I couldn't wait for the holidays. Completely free and of legal age for the first time. No more school and responsibilities, and 2 months of enjoyment to come. The desire for freedom and enjoyment was even more fueled by this devilish pandemic and stupid restrictions that locked me in a room and completely changed my way of life and entertainment.
Goofing around in the street has been replaced by online socializing, making friends with people I may never even meet, and many sleepless nights spent sitting at the computer and playing games. The only good thing was the online classes, which, especially for those of us who were not very good students, made it possible to end the school year easily without any consequences.
With the end of school, the easing of measures, the opening of cafes, and everything else was announced for the tourist season. This meant I would spend most of my time outside, but I forgot that my mom might have other plans. We had already agreed since I definitely won't be going to college that she would quickly find me a job with the help of her acquaintances. However, because of this coronavirus, she decided that I should be free during these summer months and I should just enjoy myself because, like everyone, I have been locked up at home most of the time lately. She will start looking for a job for me in the fall. Well, everything went in my favor; school ended and the measures eased.
Perhaps I should have said at the beginning that I live with my forty-five-year-old mother, Jasna, who, like all single mothers, was very protective but also quite indulgent towards me, her only son. The other person she was still attached to besides me was her younger sister Verica. Although they had completely different characters and temperaments, they were very close. Due to her nature, Verica could never have a stable relationship, and the older she got, the more difficult it was for her to settle down with someone. However, already in her late thirties, she finally met someone. and their relationship lasted more than 2 months. He was a lawyer from Prague, and they had met on the Croatian coast, spending their summer together.
After the summer romance, despite all the assumptions, they remained in a relationship, and Verica soon moved to Prague. I remember one day when Mom was talking to her on the phone and suddenly started screaming. Verica told her that they had just gotten married. It was sudden; they didn't do any ceremonies but simply went on a trip and came back married. Time passed, and both were already in their forties, so it was to be expected that they would soon have a child, but that did not happen. Verica had some kind of medical problem, and I only know that she went to some private clinics for therapy.
Mom once again started screaming with excitement when Verica informed her that she was pregnant. Her pregnancy was complicated, so Verica was under medical supervision most of the time. So for the first time, they did not come to us during the summer. The birth of the child coincided with the beginning of the pandemic, so we did not see each other for two whole years, even though Prague is less than ten hours away by car or an hour by plane.
Although they could come in the summer, they still didn't want to risk coming in the era of the Corona virus with a small child. Then my mom decided that we would visit them as soon as the restrictions eased. Verica reported that the Czech Republic had lifted the restrictions. Mom immediately booked two plane tickets to Prague as soon as I finished school. Although I would have rather been at home by myself, I couldn't refuse to go with my mother and visit my aunt to see my nephew for the first time.
Despite my mother teaching me to double-check all information always, she now made a catastrophic mistake. We landed in Prague and collected our luggage, waited in line for passport control, and then came the shock. The policeman told us that we had to quarantine for seven days. Mom tried to explain to him that the restrictions had been lifted and that the quarantine was not necessary by combining English with a few words of Czech, but being in shock meant that every third word would come out in our language. The communication between the two was not very good, and they did not understand each other. I was shocked. I couldn't imagine being locked in a room again for a week. Being so upset, she told the policeman to wait a bit, so we got out of line and stood on the side. She started sizzling.
"Well, Verica said that the measures have been lifted! Damn, what are we going to do now? Why do I have no signal? Daniel, do you have a signal?"
I just shrugged my shoulders, and she nervously held her cell phone and tried to call Verica.
"How about trying to turn off flight mode, Mom?"
She finally got a signal and managed to call Verica. Verica told her to calm down and that she would check what it was about and call her in 2 minutes.
"Now she will check what it is about."
"Anyway, I don't intend to go into any kind of quarantine. I'm going home."
"Well, OK, we will return home then. Check, when would we have a return flight?"
I took out my cell phone and started searching the Sky Scanner. There were no return flights today, and the one tomorrow was at a price we could not afford. I only found a flight home at an acceptable price on Friday, which would mean that we would still have to stay there in the hotel for two nights.
"No, I'm not giving a thousand euros for a ticket. Even the one this Friday is not cheap, especially factoring in the fact that we also have to pay for the hotel."
"How the hell could you plan to go on a trip if you don't have the money for it and you haven't checked the rules? Unbelievable! And you keep complaining to me that I'm..."
