SURVIVOR’S TALE (The author, who hails from Bohol, is currently in Canada. He works at a Catholic School in Manila.) This pandemic goes beyond any prediction, calculation, and data analysis. It has been a year or more of lockdowns and quarantines. Most of our senses cannot afford to notice the virus. Our naked eyes cannot. Our sense of touch, smell, taste, and hearing cannot too. The presence of the virus is like a clever thief. It attacks unnoticed. The writer here is a COVID-19 survivor. I strictly followed the health standards and government protocols. My experience happened in the midst of vigilance. Last March 28, 2021, the early symptoms kicked in. First, I felt the unusual tiredness and body pain. The thing is, those two symptoms stirred me to rest and just sleep the whole day. The long hours of sleep, I assumed, may end the tiredness, but it didn’t. More and more, I started to become weak and exhausted. I longed to stay in bed and sleep longer. Even with the initial symptoms, I had no thought of the virus. Since there was a change of weather from winter to spring time, it could be the typical flu. To keep my body active, I took a warm bath just to make myself aware of my body temperature and underlying physical reactions. I became weaker after a few hours. The tiredness and body pain led to body chills in the evening of March 28. I trembled out of control. As expected, my body temperature increased. I developed an alarming fever. From 37.8, it went up, and then, down. The thought of having the virus started to sink in. When more symptoms surfaced, it was no longer a suspicion; I knew I was COVID-19 positive. Though very tired, it was not easy to sleep the first night with all the symptoms, plus the anxiety that I had the virus. Honestly, I was scared. The next day, I woke up late. The moment I opened my eyes, I checked myself thoroughly, beginning with my breathing, body temperature, heartbeat, and my whole consciousness. I told myself that I must be feeling the symptoms of a mild case only.  But I started to feel new signs. Headache came and I found it difficult to do simple chores. I felt disoriented. I started to increase my vitamin C intake and took Tylenol twice a day. The second day of the ordeal was the start of self-isolation. Though there was no test done yet, I did early precautions to protect other household members. Doing more research about the virus on the Internet helped me in a way, but I think it also added to the anxiety and other psychological reactions. Before ending the first day of isolation, a new symptom took my attention. A dry cough gradually developed. Of all the symptoms, dry cough was the toughest one. It alerted me to monitor my breathing. Well, most of what I read about the virus states that the hardest part is when patients are having difficulty in breathing. Unfortunately, that heightened my worry. I started to connect with my family in the Philippines and close friends through online, telling them of my current situation. It is our nature to seek emotional support during unpleasant situations and feelings. In my case, the disclosure was helpful and therapeutic. I felt that I had entered the healing phase, though the battle had just begun. The five of us in the household decided to have a test. We booked for the online SWAB Test schedule. The test was done on a good Friday, April 2, and we received our results the day after. We were all positive for COVID-19. So we stayed together throughout the isolation period of 10 days as mandated by the Ministry of Health. By the way, I had this COVID experience while I was in Canada. In a few days, some symptoms stopped, while others like dry cough and headache continued. The experience of 10 days in the isolation period may vary for each person. It depends on how a body fights the virus. The virus is deadly, it behaves like a lion, always ready and vigorous, looking for something or someone to devour. The COVID battle is real; it is between life and death. There were sleepless nights during my isolation, and I thought I would lose my life. I thought – what if my breathing stops? Waking up at dawn and being conscious that I am in the middle of a battlefield was terrible. The virus’ tactic is to launch a silent attack. The best weapon to retaliate is kindness to oneself. As the Latin saying goes, “Nemo dat quod non habet,” which literally means, “no one gives what they do not have." The virus attacks us silently but kindness shall win. Be kind to yourself first – that’s my COVID-19 survivor’s battle cry.