The Monster In Me

Unaltered

After the careless young man's departure, another pathetic-looking visitor passed by where the strange white powder was scattered. Without realizing anything, he just relaxed while smoking a cigarette in hand. Until the moment someone called his name, he threw away the cigarette carelessly, and went away.

The fire on one side of the cigarette butt has not been completely extinguished. And on the way to land, the cigarette butts touched one end of the leaves of a plant that had yellowed dryness. Thin smoke began to arise from the way he grabbed the leaves. Little by little the fire propagated, devouring whatever was available before him until it reached the other leaves that were still attached to the stems of other plants. And all of that happened without a single visitor noticing.

Until finally, the thin stem of the plant is no longer strong enough to hold the burning leaves. The stem broke and made the leaf freefall. Making fire no longer devours only the leaves, but also the dried grass and substances that are now scattered, spreading white color between the soil.

The bigger the fire, the more concentrated the smoke. And the toxic compounds and irritants that are in the smoke are now enriched by other content of white powder that also burns with poor plants.

“Fire! Fire!” exclamation wrong visitors after the fire began to devour the third row of plants. The fire was not too big yet, but enough to panic many people.

“Quiet everyone! It's okay, everything's gonna be okay! Sorry for the inconvenience.” Trouble park rangers who are there trying to calm the commotion of visitors. He went around asking visitors to stay away from the site of the fire, because although it was small, the smoke from the fire was quite stifling to anyone who inhaled it. Coughing the guard led everyone out of the Flower Garden. While waiting for another guard who was taking the fire extinguisher.

Poor arrangement makes it take a long time for the guards to take the tool. So when they tried to put out the fire, they had to try hard because the fire had spread enough. Luckily, in the end the fire was successfully destroyed, leaving smoke that could be destroyed only with the help of wind.

News of the fire that had spread made some people who were elsewhere come to the location. Some of them chose to go straight home. Sabab though they know that the guards have handled the emergency situation well enough, they are unsure whether it will remain safe for them to remain there.

Stubborn people actually approach to take photos or just fulfill their curiosity. Armed with a piece of tissue or other cloth they could find, they tried to protect their respiratory organs by covering their noses. However, they still coughed, and their throats felt sorely attacked by smoke that did not go away.

“See, guys! Was there a fire here? Gokil, no, anyway?” said one of the girls while pointing her phone towards the impact of ash nearby. “Newly opened but there has been an incident. I think this park is cursed!”

“Sorry, Ma'am. Please away. There could still be fire left or other dangerous objects,” said one of the guards. He was very trying to remain polite even though he began to feel annoyed at visitors who behaved as wayward as the girl in front of him.

“Quiet, Sir. I remain vigilant, kok,” replied the girl confidently. It seemed that he was completely ignorant of manners, as he was now directing his camera at the guard. “How do you think about this? Are not tired of trying to ensure the safety of visitors? I just feel very tight and hot here, especially Mr. who was busy driving around.”

The guard seemed to take a deep breath in order to control his emotions that got worse with time. Both of his hands clenched, wanting to immediately swing to the annoying girl. Had there not been any other visitors now surrounding the location with curious gazes, he might have wiped away the girl's smile with his raw bogem.

The guard seemed to have started to squash one of his pants pockets. Feel the texture of a package that he always carries anywhere. It was very desirable that he sucked all those things to relieve the turmoil that now makes his chest tight.

Suddenly he wanted to laugh. Though not long ago he felt very happy to get a job in the Playground. Thinking that he no longer had to torment his body by becoming a pelvic coolie in the market. Moreover, his family also got free tickets to visit the Cakrabuana Playground for several times in one year. Anyone would assume that this is the best job that a young graduate of Junior High can get.

However, reality is not always as beautiful as a shadow. He found that the mental burden he had to bear was much heavier than the physical burden. Several times he had to refrain from facing various visitor behavior that often sucks. Even he still had to duck even though his pride had been trampled by some people who looked at him with one eye. The young man held everything back by remembering the family whose life depended on his income.

Only, he felt that the more patient he was, the more insolent people were to him.

The young guard took a deep breath one more time. Ignoring the stifling smoke that burned his esophagus and lungs. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at the girl in front of him. Smile at the camera phone that is too close to his face.

“Everything is the same,” he said while coughing. His face began to pale, with pupils of eyes that seemed to be growing more and more horribly enlarged. “You useless creatures! It just makes other people difficult!”

The people around started whispering to each other seeing the change in attitude of the young man. Especially now that the young man seemed to rotate his joints quite strangely, causing a very disturbing sound to the ears. He coughed and laughed and cried hysterically.

The girl who was too focused on recording was completely unaware of the change of the park ranger and continued to record. Until suddenly the young man he recorded ran over him. The two of them ended up falling together, but while the girl rushed back to her feet, the officer smashed his own head on the ground,

His head struck a well-arranged footing stone among the plants. His voice sounded so loud that it horrified all who heard. None of the visitors or any other officers dared to make a move. They were all frozen on the spot, watching how the security guard had almost smashed his own face.

A fishy smell started to mix in the air, accompanying the smell of smoke that was still left. People started screaming when they found it was not just the young man who started acting strangely.

***