It wasn't like Nira did not like to dress and look good. She just got irritated that it was a rule. There are always days when one is in such a hurry. And she recalled days when she would see this peculiar look on women's faces in the local bus, and then remember that she had forgotten her earrings. She'd delve into her bag and bring out the emergency pair that she kept there. Faces relaxed and you could almost hear the sigh of relief."Bah!" she would think, angrily, "My face! My ears! Noooooo!! Public property I am good and proper!"But Covid-19 was like a revolution. "I've come to do away with hypocrisy and evil....by being more evil! HAA! HAA! HAA!" (Evil laugh)."Maybe Covid-19 is the anti-Christ?" she mused, idly. "Maybe he is not a human being, maybe he is not a he either. Maybe it's a disease...""Shall I wait Ma'am?" asked the auto driver when they reached the post office. He had charged her a meagre Rs. 70 for the trip. Rewind to six months back, he would have had an arrogant smirk on his face as he stood his ground, "Rs. 150/- and not a penny less."And she would have looked horrified at the daylight robbery. It would have all boiled down to her having no other choice. Auto drivers were fleecers.But today, there was no arrogant smirk. There was desperation. There were no people on the streets; there were no school drives…there was nothing! Was it revenge that they had been taught a lesson, brought down to their knees, so to speak? Was Covid-19 the ultimate Karma?

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