Of course, not every day feels full of hope. Some days it is difficult to remember that the coronavirus pandemic is temporary, that it will perhaps one day vanish from our world as quickly as it upended it. There are nights when – hearing my husband’s breathing as he dreams next to me, feeling the cat as it nestles against my leg for warmth – I stare up at the ceiling, straining to recall what life was like before the pandemic hit Spain. Everyday, human interaction has taken on a hazardous tinge, having become infected with dirty words like transmission or contagion. Crowded summer concerts, packed restaurant terraces, trains cramped so tight their cologne stings your eyes – I feel like I see everything these days, even my memories, through the prism of COVID-19.

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