Chapter 1 - At Another Side of the Tree

The sun is going to set while illuminating one of the shophouse-turned-into-an-office. Even though the office hour was almost over, some people were still in the meeting room, racking their brains to comprehend their perils.

"So, we should admit that our engagement this month has barely reached the target. It's down bad, bad, and bad!"

"We need more fresh ideas. With this kind of content, we can't really have a good engagement for our portfolio. That way, people won't come to us for advertising or endorsement."

"Yeah, right. But what exactly do fresh ideas look like? We need to think this through, or else."

"Dunno, but if we don't have at least one product endorsement, we'll screw up this time!"

One of the team members is still listening to the discussion without saying anything. He opened his laptop and logged in to check his work, just as usual. His screen shows his name as proof that that laptop has been given to him so he can work efficiently.

Ranu Anggabaya.

Logging in…

Still in the middle of a meeting, Angga opened some work files to check his workmates' claims. Indeed, their engagement nowadays is barely called an achievement. Even trying to reach their regular standard is pretty tricky because they keep using the same formula for their content. People may be getting bored by it.

Angga raised his hands.

"So, I kinda got this idea. Perhaps we've been stuck in a videographer block or something. You know, that idea clog and such…"

Everyone was looking at him. Angga shrugged.

"My idea is, maybe we can pause the workload for a bit and try to have this one-hour spare time to go out there. Relax our minds, trying to look at another scene we rarely see daily. Or maybe look at other content out there to have an updated benchmark for ours."

Now, everyone is looking at each other for a moment. After a thorough thought, they all nod.

"Yeah, probably that's the best. It's a creative industry, and somehow, the pressure got us good. Let's do that, Angga."

"Sometimes I thought that we need some breather. Glad that someone else also got the same mind."

"Alright, guys. I think we can dismiss it for a bit. Go relax, save the world, or just sleep. Refresh our mind, and we will return here with, hopefully, more interesting ideas."

Everyone smiled at the mutual agreement and headed out while Angga was still trying to figure it out while looking at the work folders and sometimes at the references on social media and online video platforms.

Yet, looking at them for fifteen minutes straight did nothing. Angga touched his forehead while leaning on the table because he couldn't come up with anything. 

So, he stood up to see what his workmates were up to in their spare time intended.

His colleagues are having a coffee just to relax or smoking outside while enjoying the fresh and clear air. None of them are actually reviewing the contents out there. Perhaps their brains were clogged due to the heavy work pressure. Thankfully, Angga and the other's boss are not aware of this situation because he happened to be out of the office.

So, Angga will use this opportunity well by packing his mirrorless camera and going out.

"Ey, yo, where are you going?"

"Taking a breath of fresh air. Just like you."

"Make sure that you won't come home yet. We still got a few more hours to clock out, haha."

"I'll just do that, actually. To sleep will recover your mind and boost your creativity."

"Hey, hey. Angga. I'll tell the boss later."

"Whoops, haha. Alright, see you soon."

Looking back, Angga is currently working at the media and content creator office, located at the shophouse. Sometimes, he wondered what working in the big city felt like. Most likely, it'll be full of people, vehicles on the road, and many shops available to visit when he strolls at the nearby mall. And, of course, many opportunities to meet more exciting people.

A little boredom seeped into his mind. Seeing this kind of small town scenery every day is beautiful. But if Angga saw it almost daily, it would no longer feel special for him.

"Well, how to be a top content creator again? Damn, influencer. They really got that privilege to brand themselves and become the top creators in the social media."

Looking at the national-level content creator made Angga grit his teeth in excitement. He has been looking at those kinds of figures nowadays. 

"Now, what does it take to be a top content creator, huh? But wait. Let's not think that far ahead. There is a problem that I need to solve right in my face, alright. So, what should I do now?"

Angga used his mirrorless camera to take any footage that caught his eye. Someone who rides her motorcycle, people jogging on the sidewalk, a vehicle stopped at the traffic light, and a street performer asking for charity.

Further on, Angga entered some of the bustled alleys with its residents. It's commonly seen here that many children, their moms, and other seniors enjoy their noon having an affordable tea time together because their other family members earn their living.

Angga supposedly earned the money for the family, but thankfully, his family at home doesn't ask for any money from him. But they still appreciate whatever amount Angga transferred for them.

He also pointed his lenses at the usual afternoon scenery on the alley, capturing the emotion of the children playing or just the adults discussing something that's not a threat to the nation. There's nothing out of the ordinary here.

Except that banyan tree in the corner of the residence, located near a small river that flowed through this residence to the downstream god knows where. The water stream wasn't that clean since the resident primarily used it to pour away their dirty water.

That banyan tree seemed to have lived for a hundred years or more. It got dense leaves and vines everywhere while looking undisturbed by the flow of time, giving a serene vibration so that anyone could sleep within a minute beneath its shade.

Angga knows immediately if the said banyan tree is the one that has been respected and avoided by everyone. It's best for them to let that tree alone.

"If that's the case, excuse me to pick some shoots of that tree."

Angga thought he might get supernatural candid footage if he kept shooting randomly. It would be better if a ghost or something else showed up there because unusual stuff always sold well when creating content. At least, that's what he thought.

"Alright. If something comes out, maybe I can use it for our content. Hehe, just kidding."

That camera was still shooting everything about that tree. Nothing special, except some beautiful shoot of sunlight trying to breach the banyan's leaves. Angga felt like he was staring at the deep woods that blocked almost 80% of the lights from outer space.

"It's beautiful, indeed. But I can't really use this for my office content. Ah, just my bad luck."

Angga tried to move his camera away to another place, perhaps towards the typical scene of this neighborhood, which could be used for video edit material later, even though he still didn't know what kind of video would use this footage. Shoot it first, think later.

Until he noticed there was a weird sport shown in the corner of his camera's frame.

"Hmm?"

Angga moved his camera to shoot the Banyan tree again. This peculiar spot didn't move, so it's not a camera glitch or screen defect.

"Weird. A blue spot in the tree? Is this a ghost sighting?" Angga slowly getting nervous because it's his first time seeing this.

Whenever Angga moved his mirrorless camera, the blue spot stayed at the same location, on the branches under the sunlight that escaped through the dense leaves. But when Angga walked closer to the tree and looked through his own eyes, that blue spot wasn't there.

This means the blue spot was only visible through his camera.

A sense of excitement, fear, and thrill came into Angga's senses as he tried to get closer and closer. At first, he checked his surroundings to ensure no one saw him approaching the tree. Most likely, the residents here won't let Angga get near the respected tree.

"Alright, what we got here…"

The closer Angga got, the clearer the blue spot became. Enhanced with his camera's zoom feature, Angga can see in detail that it has some tiny blue sparks flying around. Like a magical thing, his eyes were attached to the screen of his camera in awe.

But the blue spot slowly got smaller and smaller, and Angga quickly responded by adding more zoom in his camera. He has to record this, at least until the weird spot is gone.

Yet, the bizarre spot suddenly got wider until the screen was colored blue. When Angga was looking at the tree, the blue spot quickly dispersed and engulfed Angga inside.

"Wha–wait!"

He closed his eyes and shouted reflexively because Angga wasn't ready at all. To begin with, what is that blue spot?

"AAAAHHHHHAAAaaaAAaaaAAaaa…"

Angga heard a quick murmur. At first, it was like a whisper. But it slowly got louder and louder. So he opened his eyes to check, only to find many people surrounding him. Furthermore, those aren't the kind of people that Angga usually sees.

It was those people with wings, weird eyes, or ears. Or maybe someone with an animal head.

Angga couldn't trust his eyes until a lady with rather distinct clothes and weird ears came to ask him.

"You okay? Can you stand?"

It was the moment his life would turn 180 degrees.