Unbelievable things
Looking at birds and listening to their tweeting, Toby thinks whether they notice that there are no people around. She asks herself whether they “notice that quietness, the absence of motors” and can’t find the answer, for she, unlike her “the more wild-eyes or possibly overdosed” fellows from the God’s Gardeners, has never believed that she could talk to birds and animals. The irony of these words, especially the phrase about them being “overdosed” indicates that Toby doesn’t really take them seriously.
The power of love
When “the trouble hit” and difficult times came, all people preferred to look for salvation within the walls of their homes. The majority of people wanted to be with their families, “believing love could save them”. The bitter irony of this phrase is supposed to show that no matter how strong love is, it is useless against an unknown virus.
A business interest
When Toby’s mother got sick, no one was prepared for it, for she was the kind of a woman who took her health seriously. “No doctor could give her a diagnosis”. “Many test were done by the HelthWyzer Corp clinics”, for they “took an interest because she’d been such a faithful user of their products”. The irony was that if she hadn’t been the user of their products, they would probably have never agreed to make those tests. It was done because of a business interest.
