Monster

A monster crept upon us, and nearly overtook us all. We had weapons prepared, and were well armed. Yet we were powerless when it arrived. I think that we would have fought harder had we known what it would take. But the monster was sly and hid his true face. It crept upon us silently, consuming us one by one.

It took our leaders first, our peers whom we looked up to. We watched them change, but were unaware of the demon they now carried. One by one we fell, consumed by the monster inside. Laughter and tears were abolished by the monster, and in their wake, only a void remained.

Some fought valiantly, they offered us new weapons, and gave speeches.

But it was to numb crowds, already defeated.

I was taken by the monster. It did not hurt. In fact, it was quite nearly the opposite; just a passive submission into nothingness. I was seduced by the lack of suffering it offered me. It promised me immunity to cruelty and failure. I did not understand at the time what I would be sacrificing.

I began my new life. A zombie amongst all the others. We had no fears, regrets, ambitions….

I had nearly forgotten about the monster’s hold on me when I stumbled

upon the cure.

Love.

Like every monster, love was its Achilles Heal. It wasn’t a romantic love. It wasn’t even a love of a person. My love, my cure, was music. My love for music built slowly year to year, but it all culminated in one moment. A moment where the monster’s grip was torn away, and I saw, for the fist time, what its true face was.

My moment occurred on a warm day in fall. The wheat was still tall and golden, the wind made waves through the fields. I drove my car out to a place where all I could see was an ocean of grain, and a backdrop of mountains. It was windy but still warm. I turned the music on in my car as loud as I could, and lay down on the roof. I let the rhythm take over my heartbeat. The music engulfed me and I was flooded with love. Every ounce of my soul was given over the music. I slipped from the grips of the monster, and was finally free.

I faced the monster and saw what I had sacrificed; my teachers’ aspirations, my sister’s respect, my boyfriend’s tenderness, my parents’ encouragement.

I gazed upon the face of my monster, and its name came to me: Apathy. The monster’s name was apathy. I, like most of my peers, was taken over by this monster in my teenage years. I still battle it today, it creeps upon me when life is difficult, but I always rise, I always conquer. I am a warrior against the monster called apathy.