A Hospital on a Misty Hill

By Pandji K Hadi

A modern hospital, in my mind, should be a green-colored complex, built on a hill and surrounded by colorful parks. It might look like a hotel or a similar establishment, but the dominant green color would give the people a sense of optimism.

However, when I had to visit a hospital in a nearby hilly area recently, my mind was far from those thoughts because the most important thing to me on that day was whether it could provide me with a job. I was an unemployed accountant.

When I arrived there I was extremely surprised by the treatment I received from the hospital officials. No sooner had I arrived at the mysterious building than I was ushered inside for an interview, puzzled by the abruptness of the situation.

Just imagine, it was really beyond my wildest dreams to be treated in such a hasty manner in a country renowned for slowness and carelessness. I had sent a job application here one day before.

I got the news about the job offering by chance. That is, from a brochure which was accidentally dropped in the street by someone. The cover of the pamphlet attracted me. When I opened it I found pages full of information about new medical products and promotions. The last page showed the address of a hospital, located on a hill, miles from the small town where I live. Although I was not completely optimistic that I would get what I wanted from the hospital, I ventured to write a letter of application.

On the afternoon of the interview I took local public transportation to answer the swift reply to my application, signed by none other than the director. After quite a long journey I alighted at a place from where the driver told me I could proceed to the hospital on foot. Since I had never been to this area I asked the driver for directions. But his explanation was too simple. "Take the left turn after you walk 200 meters, proceed along an ascending road. When the road slopes downward, turn left again. After a distance the hospital will be within your sight, OK?"

"Thanks."

Actually the guidelines were confusing so once again I read the instructions provided with the letter of reply. After 20 minutes of walking I saw a large building standing on a misty and secluded hill. The mist was so thick that I failed to form a complete picture of the establishment.

Only after I reached the hospital -- where the mist had inexplicably disappeared -- could I see everything clearer. But, my God, this was not a hospital as anybody could have imagined, it was a repulsive old fortress.

I entered the lifeless building and tried to find a secretary or someone who could show me to the director's office. I met a nurse who said the director was expecting me. But I was asked to wait for a moment because the director was inspecting the wards. "Don't worry he is a good man," she said.

She then introduced herself as Aisyah and asked whether I was only called Susanto, or if I had a surname.

"My full name is Susanto Satya Nugraha," I said.

Aisyah said she did not come from the hilly area but, like me, from the town. I got an impression that she was too talkative. As the nurse left I smelled something unpleasant, like the fragrance of traditional incense used for the dead. She should smell of medicines, I thought, but I might be wrong because a hospital is a place where seriously ill people can die.

I also noticed that Aisyah was so pale and lifeless. While waiting for the director in his room I also asked myself why the hospital looked so somber. Almost no sunlight penetrated from outside. Before I could guess the answer the director suddenly appeared, but not from the front door, the only doorway leading into the room. Before I could unravel the mystery I was glad to see that he was as a very kind and hospitable man. His smiling face demonstrated his ability to understand my situation.

"Welcome Mr. Susanto, I'm sure you will like this place. If you do it will be your last station. We'll employ you as a book keeper, not a busy job really. We already have a book keeper, but he is very old so he has to retire. Therefore, for the development of our hospital I have decided to find a successor. But besides bookkeeping, you will also have the responsibility of registering the patients who die and submitting the reports to the morgue official. As an employee you have the right to use the pavilion, which is located behind the hospital. You are also eligible for full service from the hospital. But I must tell you one thing, and this is important," he said without pause before I interrupted.

"What is that, Sir?"

"Never approach the building which is located north of the hospital, if you would like to show us good discipline."

I did not ask another question so he continued talking.

"Mr. Susanto, I don't like formality, but I want to ask you a question, and please regard this as an interview. Have you ever been scared to death?"

As I was trying to understand his question, the director interrupted with a louder voice, "Mr. Susanto, did you hear me? Or are you deep in your strange thoughts?"

Before I could say anything a strange smell wafted into my nostrils. It was more malodorous and I suspected that it was coming from his body.

I began to feel frightened. I looked at the clock. It was 5:30pm, which meant that the sun was still above the horizon. But why was the hall already dark? And why had no lights been turned on?

I stared at the director, who kept smiling although he also looked tense. His body, which has been slender when I arrived suddenly grew larger. His skin became covered by fish scales and his freckled face turned white, just like a white man. His voice had also become hoarse and deep.

Under such frightful circumstances I lost the capability to answer his questions. And then, the light was suddenly on and the director had regained his old features.

"Mr. Susanto, you are very tired, aren't you? Please take a rest in the room we have prepared for you. Tomorrow you can start with your work."

I felt as if I had been struck by lightning on hearing the last sentence. I left the room. Outside, an old man with gray hair and a hunchback, wearing a dark robe, was waiting to lead me to the room. As the old man produced a frighteningly bad order, like the smell of a dead animal, I really was scared to death.

Early the next morning, I found myself not in a special bedroom but in a large ward with cloudy-colored walls which were covered in mold.

"Good morning, Pak Susanto," greeted Aisyah who suddenly appeared in front of me. She told me that I could start my work now but first I should take a bath and then get my breakfast at the canteen. Aisyah was not as friendly as yesterday. When I tried to look at her face she turned aside and left. I wanted to ask her several questions which included, why my room had looked like a prison cell, and who was the old man I met yesterday?

Upon entering my office I was quite surprised to find that it did not look like the office of a book keeper. To become familiar with the place I looked around. I found a book, the cover of which was exactly the same as the cover of the booklet which led me here. To ensure that nobody was spying on me I looked out the window. It was a very unusual environment. I couldn't see any activity, there were no doctors, no nurses and no visitors whatsoever. The only sound I could hear was the crowing of ravens.

I scrutinized every page of the book. The finding made my hair stand on its end. I was sweating too. The book had a list of people who would soon have to die. The last page contained a list of those who would die much sooner. Every name was listed, complete with age, sex and a full address. My name was among them. Before me was Aisyah, the nurse. My God I would die soon?

Until night fell I did not see any more people there, including the smiling director. I was curious about the death list once again, so I opened the book once more.

At its center I found the name of a person whose physical peculiarities resembled those of the director who interviewed me. His full name was Iwan Sunarta. He might have perished here a long time ago. I realized that his name was exactly the same as the well-known surgeon who once worked at the general hospital in my town. He was later reported to have mysteriously disappeared.

Trying to comprehend the danger of the situation, I returned to my room and packed things up. I only had one day to escape. According to the death list my time would end tomorrow night. The book said that the hospital would pluck my eyeballs out. It also revealed that they had taken Aisyah's heart, while Dr. Sunarta had been robbed of his skin.

At midnight I felt that time was passing horribly slow. I said my prayers and asked God to save my life. I planned to flee during the dark hours but I was too afraid to do so because the area was terra incognita to me. The darkness was blinding. There were dangerous valleys and ravines into which you could fatally plunge. I decided to remain in the room until dawn.

Suddenly, a mild wind sneaked into my room carrying the stench of death. I started to sweat. Emerging from the noiseless and lifeless situation I heard the voice of a woman calling my name. It sounded like Aisyah's voice. After a moment I was assured that it was her. The nurse was standing right before me. I was scared to death. I could not move. I tried to speak, but to no avail.

"Don't be afraid," Aisyah said. "I've come to save you because you will be sacrificed by the old sorcerer to feed the devils he keeps, just like he did to me. Don't wait until daybreak. You must get out of this place as soon as possible. The sorcerer has his men everywhere. They include the drivers of public transportation and their assistants. But don't worry, I will take you to a safe area beyond their devilish domain."

After saying that the nurse, with lightning speed, jumped out of the window and stood staring at me. She looked like she was waiting for me to come along. I followed her shadow and smell in the dark. What happened next is too obscure for me to describe.

When I woke up I found myself in a place which looked like the living room of a village house. As I slowly regained consciousness I felt my eyes opening and my hearing return. I saw four walls around me. There were a lot of people watching me with curious eyes and an apparent sense of sympathy.

After I fully regained consciousness an old man told me that I was found lying in a field outside the village by a farmer. He said that my clothes were torn and my body was covered in scratches.

The man also said that on one of the hills there stood an old hospital run by a person who the people believe to be mentally unstable. The building had been constructed by the Dutch colonial authorities to treat their people, but after they left the country the hospital was abandoned. Rumors circulating here say that the insane man lives alone up there, he looks dirty and behaves like a devil.

"As time drifted by the people here forgot about the man. Only recently, after so many strange things have happened to many people, have they suspected him as the very source of satanic acts," the old man said.

Translated by TIS

Glossary:

Pak is Indonesian for Sir or father.