Smoke Gets In My Eyes

There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all. ~Robert Orben

I was feeling lethargic since morning. I woke up from a rather disturbed sleep filled with weird dreams. My runny nose didn’t make things better either.

The instant I stepped out of my room, my eyes sting and my throat burned. It took me a few eyes-rubbing moments to realize that the blurry images that greeted me were not caused by the tears that were clouding my vision. The air was even reeking of a burning stench. Somehow, the haze had gotten more serious overnight.

The PSI reading had reached a hundred and thirty as at ten in the morning. The appointment that my friend and I had made with our kids had to be cancelled due to health concern. We were marveling at the sudden deterioration of the haze condition when I suddenly remembered,

“Could it be the candles, leaves and twigs that the kids were burning last night?”

Plans to travel outdoor were withheld as even breathing in the living room and kitchen with the windows opened was an arduous task. I had to sneak into my air-conditioned bedroom for some breather once in a while. Just my luck when two out of the three air-conditioners were not functioning properly. But luck’s definitely on my side since mine was the only one working properly!

I had to advise Mervin to stay in my room as much as possible. He’s the one with weaker respiratory system unlike his sisters and me. When my friend told me about her son having the same problem in contrast to her robust health, we couldn’t help but wonder,

“How come guys nowadays are more useless than ladies?”

By afternoon, my system was threatening to shutdown. Besides of the haze, I guess my lack of sleep played a part too. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I was staring at an old haggard dark-rimmed-sunken-eyes woman. If that’s how I’ll look like when I become old, may someone kill me please?

Checking the PSI reading online hourly became one of my routine for the day. We traveled to my in-laws’ place for dinner around five, when the PSI level dropped to below ninety. However, the condition worsened again at night when we were about to travel home.

“We’ll definitely die of gas poisoning,” I whined.

“What? It’s only a hundred and fifty? Do you think it’ll go any higher? Do you think school will be closed?” Rachel blasted away.

“Would you rather go to the hospital than the school?” I wanted to ask, but thought it best to keep my mouth shut.

We had to make our way back as it was getting really late. We braved the haze and walked through the poisonous mist. I thought I must have been poisoned as I could suddenly feel a dull ache throbbing around my abdomen. I was most certainly poisoned since my head was beginning to feel groggy. Even my vision was turning cloudy and my throat scratchy.

Once home, I had the strongest urge to hit my pillow right away. But there was this stack of dishes in the sink smirking at me. In the nick of time, my little elf appeared! She did the dishes, cleaned the table and even put away the clean dishes. I was so touched that I got dizzy spells and wobbly legs.

The words in front of me seem to be doing a funny tap-dancing right now.

Haze or daze?