It was a dark, cold, rainy day in the outskirts of Texas in year 2055.  Shrouded dark clouds were embedded in the skies.  It seemed to brighten John’s day a little although he had just awoken.  It was always extremely hot but now since winter was coming around, it felt more chilly and different.  It kept him motivated to get up and go to his shop, John’s Auto Repair Shop. He bought the repair shop with his beloved wife, Rose, back in their mid-20’s.  He opened the shop every day of the year with his loyal employees.  He’d always make his way to his shop with a nice cup of coffee from the coffee machines laid out in front of his store.  Jack was always the one there first setting up everything.  Jack worked morning shifts while his other employees Antonio and Sarah worked mid shifts.  Antonio was the magical repair man who’d fix cars andSarah would just be the cashier.  Jack did everything else like maintenance and find stuff for customers, making sure everything was in the right place.  As John walked in, he noticed Jack’s eyes were really puffy.
            “Feel’s good to have the rain back, don’t you think John?” said Jack.
            “It sure does.” said John.
            “I just want to fall into my bed and sleep-in.  It’s such a good day to sleep-in because of all this rain.  Feels refreshing.” said Jack.
            “Jack, why are your eyes so puffy?” said John.
            “The new Alien Warfare game came out yesterday.  Didn’t you hear?” said Jack.
            “So, did you stay up playing all night or what?” said John.
            “Ummm kinda.  I haven’t even slept yet.” said Jack.
            “Jeez, boy.  Want me to get you a coffee?” said John.
            “No thanks, John.  I drank myself a few energy drinks before I arrived.” said Jack.
            “Ok, boy.  If you need something then tell me, ‘kay?” said John.
            John went to his office and answered a various amount of phone calls from angry customers who wanted refunds.  The angry customers were the ones who had their vehicles repaired about a few months or a year ago.  They always complained about how the mechanic just damaged the vehicle even more.  But when John saw the receipt, it’s about a year old for each one.  But hey, the customer is always right; however, not according to John.  Antonio fixes the car and the customer comes back blaming Antonio that he didn’t do a good job when it was repaired about 2 years ago.  To John, Antonio was the mechanic who had magical hands.  Everything he touched seemed to come to life.  Especially cars. 
            “Buenos dias!” said Antonio.
            “Good morning Antonio.” said John.
            “Boss did you see the weather outside?  Es fantastico!  ” said Antonio.
            “Yes yes. Weather is great.  Can’t wait for my wife’s return though!  She’s arriving tomorrow from the Airport.  Antonio would you mind taking care of the shop while I’m gone?  I might be out for a few days.  Might be a lot for you but you’ll receive a bonus in your pay-“
            “Yes boss!  Don’t worry!  I won’t let you down.”
            This was the first time he let Antonio take over but, his wife was arriving from Africa from her medical trip.  John couldn’t wait.  All he really thought about that whole day was his wife’s arrival.  Although she wasn’t arriving until tomorrow, he had to plan something special.
            “Alright Sarah, I know you’ve just got here but, you’re the only female I can verbally talk to about surprising a woman.  How should I surprise my wife?  She’s arriving tomorrow from Africa.  She’s been there for a while now.  I want her arrival to be special.” said John.
            “Hmmmm… You can just bring a load of food.  Like a lot of junk food or like burgers.  I’d want that.  Fatten her up.  She’s coming from Africa.” said Sarah.
            “Haha.  You have a point.  But that sounds lame.” replied John.
            “Bruh.  Just take your girl out.  On like a date or something.”
            “Ahh.  You’re right.  I’m making this complicated.  Thank you, Sarah.  Oh yeah, I won’t be here for a few days so watch over Jack for me kay?  I’m worried about him.”
            “Ya don’t worry about it.  And what about Antonio?”
            “I’m putting him in charge for a few days.”
            “Kay.  Whatevs.  Have fun.  Make sure to bring me back some food.”
            “Okay Sarah.  I have to go say my goodbyes to the guys.  I’ll see you in a few days.  Thanks for the tips and stay safe got it?  Remember to keep an eye on Jack.”
            “Got it.” said Sarah.
            John see’s Jack near the oil change section of the store and sees him slowly closing his eyes. 
            “Jack you awake buddy?” said John.
            “Wha whaa whaaa-“ mumbles Jack.
            “Sure you don’t want that coffee?”
            Jack giggles, “Yeah I’m sure.”
            “Hey you take care of yourself alright.  And don’t stay up too long.”
            “Okay. Wait it sounds like you’re going somewhere.  Where are you going?”
            “I’m going to be off for a few days because my wife’s coming back from Africa.”
            “Africa?  Isn’t that where Ebola originally originated from?”
            “Yes it is!  She’s one of the nurse’s from the Ebola campaign for cure.
`           “Ohhh.  I see.  Hey John, I really hope you don’t get Ebola.  Have you seen the social media lately?  People use Ebola as a joke.  It’s weird but funny.”
            “Thank you Jack.  And yes I have!  I use Ebola as a joke too.  Don’t you remember last week Jack?  You had a cold last week and drank out of my coffee on accident remember?  And I said, ‘You gave me Ebola!  You’re fired!’”
            “Oh yeah I remember!  You joke around too much.  But I admit.  That was pretty funny.” giggled Jack.
            The conversation made John think about his wife, but he wasn’t worried.  He just wanted to reunite with his beloved wife Rose.  After saying his goodbyes, he left in excitement thinking about Rose.  See her sparkling eyes, thin thighs, curved hips, and red lips.  He also wondered how she’d be when she arrived and what they’d do.  Where could they possibly go?  Maybe just cook dinner together?  But they weren’t the best cooks.  John finally decided to just let her choose a restaurant to go to when they reunite.
            John made his way home and went straight to bed.  He slowly opened to window to hear the rain pellets drop from the sky pounding the floor.  It was a pleasant sound.  It was almost relaxing.  But John’s thoughts and emotions overcame that relaxation.  He’d lay there and think.  It’s just been too long since they’ve reunited.  As he looked out the window, the thunderstorms grew louder and louder.  Big bolts of lightning suddenly flashed from afar.  It was almost as if it was intentional.  He set his alarm for the big day.  After closing his eyes, it was all blank.  No one appeared in his head except for Rose.
            He woke up the next morning sweaty and hot.  He could still hear the rain pouring outside, and woke up breathing heavily.  He didn’t want to think about his dream anymore.  All he wanted now was to get to Rose.  He drove to the airport using the auto-drive system in his car.  When he arrived, he was stoked.  He also bought a rose on the way in.  Some lady was selling them for five dollars each rose.  He waited for about 2 hours until she arrived.  When they saw each other it was love at first sight all over again.  They hugged and kissed it out until their lips turned purple.  People walked by looking at them in discomfort but some cheered them on.  Both John and Rose were delighted to see each other again. 
            “Well that was a warm welcoming.” said John.
            “Sure was.” giggled Rose.
            “Where do you want to go eat?  You must be starving.” said John.
            “Heck ya I am!  Hmmmm… Let’s see… I’m kinda craving anything right now so wanna just go to a buffet?”
            “Yeah sure!  Anything you want.”
            John and Rose arrive at the buffet.  John notices she’s been eating more than normal which made him happy.  He also notices that she’s gotten a little skinny.
            “So how’s it like in Africa?”
            “It was okay.  Nothing but sick patients vomiting from time to time.  It’s pretty gross.  But you have to deal with it.  Smell was horrific.”
            “Wow.  Did you guys find a cure?  And were you well equipped with equipment?”
            “Sadly no.  All we can do is slow it down.  But the prices are expensive just to slow down the virus.  And yes we were well equipped but you can still smell the aroma from the sick patients in your bunks when you’re trying to sleep.  I don’t know if it’s well equipped but it seemed like good equipment.”
            “Sounds good.” said John.
            “I’m getting more food.  I’ll be back.” said Rose.
            “Okay hon’ take your time.”
            While Rose gets more food, John thinks about how bad this situation really is.  He’s heard of Ebola for years and there is still no cure.  It might have been a century already.  There were a few cases of Ebola patients in the United States.  Social Media blew up with it.  For a while it was a serious situation.  But now Ebola was now used as a mere joke.  Rose arrives at the table with her food in hand when suddenly she vomits. 
            “Oh my god honey are you ok?” said John.
            Rose continues to vomit another time before John comes to help her.  She now seemed to be vomiting forever.  It looked and smelt disgusting.
            “Someone call 911!” screamed John.
            The crowd watches in a disgusting manner and no one seemed to be calling.  The crowd seemed to think she could have Ebola.  Some even giggled.  The only reason why they thought that was because she wasn’t vomiting food anymore.  John dials 911 to get an ambulance.  He was in total shock when he saw the crowd just watching.  The ambulance arrives and takes Rose in the ambulance truck.  John quickly follows.   The paramedics ask for her medical history and John immediately responds to the best he knows.  Rose lays fainted on the bed while John is telling the paramedics how she just arrived back from Africa.  The paramedics whisper something into each other’s ears and now tell him that it’s going to be fine.  When they arrive, they immediately take her to a room and inform John not to interfere or come into the room.  He wonders for a while to what possibly could have happened to Rose.  Could she have Ebola?  With him now worried for her life, he sneaks in to check on Rose. 
            He peaks in the room that she is being worked on and it looked like she was being experimented on.  They were desperate to find something and John new it.  But what could it be?  He moves on into a storage room where he finds cabinets of documents and random files of patients who have died in the hospital.  Then, he stumbles upon the secret file box.  He was surprised to see that the first and only thing in the file was Ebola.  All that was in this file contained the answer to all of his suspicions.  He opened the file to see the symptoms, diagnosis, and the only cure.  Symptoms included vomiting, dizziness, and faints.   That answered all of his suspicions once he had read that.  His wife had Ebola.  And the only way to spread it is through saliva or liquids like vomit.  The only cure was death.  It was even marked in red. 
            He knew it.  His life was now pointless.  His wife who had just come back had Ebola.  His heart sank.  The only thing he really wanted now was his wife.  So he was happy to die with no regrets but now he thought how could he contradict himself?  Will he die knowing he himself had joked around about such a disease?  It didn’t matter to him anymore.  He was a dead man.