Journal of a Bear
More than 5 years ago, Barry Bearington still has nightmares of his savage self. These are snippets of the journal he decided to write to help him to cope with his traumas.
The evening was already turning into the night as I arrived home from my shift. As I look out to the window at the beautiful metropolis of Zootopia, my mind constantly wanders back to that event more than 5 years ago. Even now, I can still recall that sensation I felt when I was walking home after a long evening drinking with the buddies. A little pinch in my neck, followed by my consciusness slipping away. Everything that made who I am was taken away from me, only to be replaced with base desires. I was literally an animal, regressed and wild. To think that there was a substance out there that would literally shut down our higher brain functions like that...
It was only later. Months or weeks later, when I learned the truth: someone somewhere has experimented with flowers known as 'Night Howlers' and made a serum out of them. Talk about an evil flower. Fortunately, I'm told that while it can make mammals go savage naturally, it will eventually wear off. Therefore to make this effect constant was quite a feat. I felt my gut growl once more and so I decided to take some more lasagna for the evening. After finishing it up, I turned on the tv in hopes of catching the latest headlines. And catch the headlines I did. I saw a cougar on the screen with a microphone, standing before a building that was in flames. I led an audible gasp; that was the famous historical building The Ramfield Cottage, nowadays serving as a museum and visited by tourists from all over the world. To see such a beloved building containing lots of priceless artifacts inside in flames was simply unbelievable. The reporter stated that the authorities are currently investigating whether or not it was an act of arson. Still in disbelief, I quietly shut down the TV and rested on the couch, if only to give myself a peace of mind. I hope I won't get more nightmares tonight...
Tomorrow began like any other day with the rays of the sun peeking out from the curtains. After brushing my teeth and doing my morning exercises, I heard someone knock on the door. It was my landlord and he had a package of sorts addressed to me. Opening the package, I was delighted to see a picture book courtesy of my cousin. She was always a well traveled person and made sure to send me a picture book after each trek. This time, it looks like she has decided to visit India of all places. At least, that's what the picture of her standing in front of the Taj Mahal seemed to convey. Putting the book aside, I turned my attention to the ordinary mail. Besides the usual copy of Zootopia Gazette and a few coupons, there wasn't anything of note in there today.
It's no use. Everytime I try to forget, those painful days still manages to haunt me. Was this one of the side effects of Night Howlers? To make me relive the events over and over? It's possible I might have killed (and possibly eaten) an innocent victim during my rampage but I'm not even sure of that. If there are records of the Incident somewhere, I would gladly take a look at them if only to ease my guilt. May the Maker forgive my being...
It took lots of back and forth correspondence but finally I was able to acquire the Savage Mammals Committee files pertaining to myself. It turns out that I was one the third victim to be infected with the concentrated Night Howler serum. Fortunately I didn't kill anyone but I did manage to hospitalize several mammals before my capture. I wonder if they still hold a grudge against me... Setting those thoughts aside for now, I need to prepare myself as there's reports of increased presence of goons from the Mr. Big Outfit. Apparently the local shops here have begun to resist the racket the outfit imposed on them.
To my surprise, some of the my friends from the high school contacted me of the blue. 10 years have passed and yet they're still the same lovable goofballs like always. And they surprisingly kept up their obsession with anime and manga as well, to the point that one of them, James Chinery, became a writer for a magazine dealing in all manner of stuff coming out from Japan. Even though it's only one country out of many, the level of obsession a certain segment of population have towards it still manages to baffle me everytime. Still, as long as anime and manga makes them happy, I'm happy to see them in high spirits as well. Perhaps I should join them for a future trip eventually...