Caged Bird Caged Bird

By Sunny Zhao

I dreamt about a cage the kind of expensive aviary with gold ornaments on its wire-rimmed exterior. But inside the bars, the only thing visible is the rusted metal with the smell of decay. A figure is moving desperately in the cage. Is it finding a way to escape? Before I can take a closer look, the shaking ground wakes me up from the nightmare.

Earthquakes are quite common in Sichuan. You would be laughed at if you panicked. I wait calmly in my bed, overwhelmed by the scent of instant noodles. My sleepiness slips away when I slowly count to ten. I look up and realise the lamp is wobbling so hard that the dust is falling onto my pillow.

My phone screen reads September 5, 2022, 2:39 AM. Below is the emergency message that an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 is happening.

Struggling, I put on my shoes and the crumpled shirt that I have been wearing for days. The piercing noise of glass falling down the table startles me. I run to my desk to find my necessities. In the drawer, my keys rest somewhere under a pile of medical masks.

The smell of unpleasant fumes of plastic and polyester fills my nose, reminding me of the uncomfort of doing a COVID test.

For a long time, they urge us to stay in the building and send nurses upstairs to do the testing. Someone tried to sneak out last week, but he was caught right after he successfully picked the lock. Apparently, his action warned them because the next day a smart lock replaced the old one.

As I put on my mask, I pass by the dining room where all those empty bottles and jars are fighting against the shaking world to keep their integrity. I hustle down the stairs. The sounds of people shrieking and their rapid footsteps are so clear in the night. When I reach the ground floor, the steel door in front of me brings me back to the nightmare. I finally realise where people's fear comes from.

My memory flashes back to all those mornings when I’d see the figure delivering a speech passionately on the television. They would flaunt how the COVID cases had been reduced to 121 cases yesterday, and how it wouldn’t happen if we did not shut our doors and windows. The policy is for the greater good of all people. We should follow their words at all times.

So, of course, an earthquake shouldn’t be an exception to breaking the rule.

As I turn the icy doorknob, it feels like I am touching the rusted wire in that aesthetically ugly aviary.

Behind me, people struggle their way downstairs, desperately finding a way to get out.

The unit door is locked.

It is me in the cage.