A Reason Why They are Here

The Ringmaster slid the door of his van open to reveal the products he had inside it. When he did so, everyone else gasped in awe, for he finally unveiled the real reason why they are here in the first place.

In its core, the Organization is still a business though they also offer an entertainment portion to the members of their merchant-program before the actual buying process. It's seriously an intricate process, and even though I have been a long-time member of the Organization, I still do not understand what it means to be a real part of them. All I know is that, when I was in college, the door appeared in front of me while I was suffering the lowest point of my life in my lonesome. There I was greeted by the then newly recruited Ringmaster as his first customer. He told me he could sell me things that I need at that moment and many other things I wanted to have in my life if I just agreed to be a part of their Organization as a member. In a dream-like trance of not knowing what I wanted in my life or if what I'm seeing is real, I agreed without even knowing what it was. He then gave me the product, I spoke with him for a bit, and then I left using the same door I used to enter. When I had finally understood that what I had seen is a part of distorted reality, I realized what I had done and started to ask questions that will never be answered. However, when I bought the product that the Ringmaster gave me, for some reason, everything just became better again in my life, and I started experiencing an unprecedented boom in my academic career. I never once again found a slump in my life that day I met him. I never forgot about him, but he never appeared again.

Not until the following year.

That was when the Ringmaster explained to me that the membership I agreed upon is one where the door will appear in front of me every year. That was when I started to realize what I had just done.

I had become a part of something I clearly do not understand.

The Ringmaster introduced himself as Lucas, and for the best of my knowledge, I am the only one who knows that his name is Lucas. However, I am not sure if that is his real name. I then introduced myself, but he said that there is no need for such a thing because he already knows everything about my life, which I oddly accepted as if it was something I expected from the very beginning. I remembered how surprised Lucas was, too, when he saw how casually I accepted that fact right away. I think those days when we first met were the fondest moments we had spent together. These days, we barely talk anymore because he has a lot of members in his care now, and all of them wish to buy something from the Caravan. Of course, he will entertain those other members rather than me who had already stopped buying products a long time ago along with Veronica. We are both just staying here because of the rules and because we want to watch the executions. We always love just how amazing the performances would always turn out to be.

I guess this impromptu execution we conducted this year was a way for Lucas to remind me that I am still a part of his life somehow. It's an excuse for both of us to tell each other a message, yet both of us don't even know what the message is.

Perhaps, I'm overthinking all of this. After all, I do not know everything about Lucas, and he clearly showed that when he touched me earlier. I felt a sensation that I rarely feel when I touch other people's hands. I only ever felt that electrifying touch from him, and it's not even electrifying in a metaphorical sense, it's a sensation that rushes through me like a bolt of lightning. I touched Veronica's hands while we're both looking at the people around the Ringmaster, but she clearly doesn't have the same power that the Ringmaster's touch possesses.

Perhaps this year is really just Lucas' way of punishing me for not doing well enough in this year's chores. Maybe this is his way of telling me that I could be the one dead right now, but I am only alive out of his respect for me just because I am his first customer.

I am at fault too. It's not like the rules are complex. They are rather easy to understand, and I always have them in my mind in everything I do in my life. Lucas presented to me the laws into five manageable sections that he paraphrased himself for me to read easily.

Section 1: Do not speak of the Organization outside of the Door. Punishment will be dealt with members who bypass this section. 

Section 2: Members are required to attend all sessions yearly, even if the member does not make a purchase. Every member can only purchase one type of item every year. Punishment will be dealt with members who bypass this section. 

Section 3: The Organization will require every member to do a "chore" for the benefit of the Organization and its members every month. Members will always be required to do the said "chore" as fast as possible. Punishment will be dealt with members who bypass this section. 

Section 4: Members must be respectful to other members and towards the resource personnel that represents the Organization. Punishment will be dealt with members who bypass this section. 

Section 5: Do not ask questions. Member's complete cooperation is required. Punishment will be dealt with members who bypass this section. 

I had seen many people get punished for not following the third rule, and I even saw many people die for refusing to do the chores. Although it's often just mundane stuff like bringing something to a specific location, it can still be quite a bummer, especially to a busy person like me. Of course, I do all of my chores, but I don't necessarily do them as fast as I could, which is something they expect me to do, as stated in the rule. Perhaps I only was intended to be punished, but they didn't expect me to enjoy it as much as I did.

However, I am still thankful to Lucas and the Organization. They are always helping my life as much as they can, and I'm sure they are taking good care of all their members as well. After all, they are pretty much offering their services and their products for free. The only thing they expect us to do is to have our full cooperation once every month, a full disclosure of their services, and an unquestioning attitude. Then again, some people just cannot abide by the rule even though they get to enjoy the lavishes and the great products that the Organization offers them. Some would willingly disclose information outside of the Organization; some would voluntarily be absent in their session; some would start asking questions they shouldn't be asking. Some, like me, are being tardy of their monthly chores. I have seen many people die in my life, and most of them are people who can't follow the damn rules.

In fact, I have a theory that the reason why the Organization tortured George before finally killing him this year after five years is that he learned something he shouldn't know from someone in the Organization. Now, I haven't seen the Organization actively using the yearly sessions to get rid of people who are sniffing on their trails, but they did to George; they probably did it to someone else too.

They probably did it all the time.

However, I cannot understand why one would want to compromise their membership by being stupid enough to break the damn rules. We rarely have the yearly murder spree that we often do in the court before. We usually just buy from the Ringmaster and leave. Still, the amount of people who have the audacity to bypass the Organization increases every damn time until I finally suggested one simple thing to Lucas.

"Why don't we conduct a public execution?"

He liked the idea. He liked the idea a lot. The following year when I gave him that idea, he constructed a custom platform in the middle of the year. It rises when the execution is happening, and it descends when it's unneeded. That year, when the Ringmaster announced the first execution, he personally mutilated the head of four people to remind everyone that being a hard-headed member of the Organization will not be tolerated.

Year after year, the executions happen, and year after year, the method they used to kill off people gets more and more creative. Still, people are not following the rules, which I find exciting because it gives me the best cathartic piece of entertainment that I can never see just by watching people killing others on the internet.

I just don't understand why they would go out of their way to not follow the rules. Not only would they die in doing so, but they would also go out of their way to stop getting the products that the Organization offers. They have products that shape your body in any way you want; the Ringmaster ever provides to use the product to turn the customer as beautiful as they please. They have a product that allows people to turn their body into an elastic, gum-like substance that makes them enter small holes with ease or to manipulate the shape of their body like slimes. They have a product that could alter the way other people think on a large scale basis. They have a product that could manipulate the space around them. They have a product to give customers a body they desire as long as the Organization possesses that body. They even have a  product that could change a person's gender.

I remembered that the first product I ever bought in the organization is one that calms a person's nerves, which I needed a lot because I had serious anger issues back then. After that, I never really needed to use another one anymore. I feel clearer, and I feel like a better version of myself. I stopped fighting with my family members, and I became more cooperative with my annoying classmates. I even got more friends who cared about me instead of putting up with more of George's annoying flexes just because he's my only friend. However, I never really managed to get him out of my life until this year when Lucas allowed me to cut him off my life quite literally. The other years after that is just me buying all the products that the Organization could offer, but I'm not interested in using any of them. Besides, each product has long and arduous rules that users must follow before and after usage. The one I used is the easiest; it's just a pill to swallow.

They have these among many other products that they willingly give out for free, but still, people decide to be picky about it or be righteous about what is right and wrong. By the time they entered this place, they should have already weighed down that argument in mind and not waste the Organization's time.

"You're really looking at that guy really fucking hard, huh?" Veronica's voice pulled whatever remains of my consciousness back to reality.

"Huh?" I

"I mean, you're looking at the Ringmaster way too much right now." She said while pointing her chin at the direction of the Ringmaster.

"Am I?" I turned my head towards the direction of the Ringmaster again. "I didn't notice."

She scoffed. "Yeah. I didn't know you hold grudges."

"What? No. What do you mean?" I said with a soft chuckle.

"I mean, you're looking at him because you hated how he humiliated you in the right, right?"

"What? No, no, no, no, no! You're misunderstanding this, Ver!" I laughed. Don't think too much about it." 

"So, you aren't looking at him so seriously because he got on your nerves?"

"No. Of course not." I said with a soft smile with my arms crossed. "I loved every second of it."

"Enjoyed killing your 'best friend'?" She said with a heave. "You're really showing how fucked up you are, Tim."

I then continued looking at the Ringmaster until our eyes met; he then smiled at me, and I remembered how he touched me and how he looked at me and how he whispered into my ear earlier.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am."