My Campus in the Evening

By spending most of our weekdays at University of Al-Azhar Indonesia, we must have known very well about our campus situation. I know that it is often hectic, crowded, and sometimes architectonic boring. But it is only when you see it at daytime. To tell you the truth, UAI in the evening is beautifully unique.

Here we are --- me and four of my friends sitting on the second floor gazebo. Three of us, including me, are having cigarette and coffee. We know that nobody is supposed to smoke here, especially students. We could see at the left corner the warning of non-smoking area sticks on the wall, below wi-fi server, but who cares. It is nine-o-clock in the evening, and not too long ago, security checked on us and said nothing.

There is no reason of why we are hanging out at this not too narrow yet not too wide alley above campus main library. If there should be reasons, I'd say because it is end of the week and we were pretty tired these past five days. We just want to enjoy our freetime.

To be honest, I always like times like these. A quite time when you can only hear the sound of vehicles from distance while the odour of the night swirls around you (truely, the night scent smells different than daylight). This cozy situation, plus cigarette, and coffee are a nice combination. It makes me calm and relax.

Since we were arrived, two of my friends are busy talking in private; it looks like they're talking about some serious problem. Looking at how serious their face are, three of us decided to change sitting spot, because I came here not to be more serious but to feel new excitement. So, big pond in front futsal field is our choice.

It is right decision choosing big pond as sitting spot. From down here, I could see the big place where we usually see it common: UAI main building, in the afternoon, now has changed into an epic megastructure at night.

From this pond, we could see UAI main building shines the road below with its spotlight. These lights give me different perspective of seeing the big building in front of me. I could feel its glory. Every shape fits to each other. It is not bad at all. Maybe our daily activities make us careless of its look.

Mesmerized by the look of it, me and two friends started to have random conversation. We are imagining about what we could make to maximize the goodness this campus had. Imagine if there is a routine acoustic music performance every Friday night, held on the parking lot in front of the main lobby - - - performed by UAI students. If this random idea is realized, students will have positive activity.

After finish with our coffee and cigarette, our spirit of exploration starts to take control. Not enough just to enjoy campus from outside, we move our feet and go inside the main building. I am wondering what it looks like at night.

As we had already predicted, everything is colored black inside. After passing the main hall, we go by elevator to the sixth floor. When we are arrived at sixth floor, I cannot describe the situation. Only one word crosses my mind: spooky.

It is a very long alley at night, with many doors attached on both side. There are no colors here. It is pitch black. Lights only enter from outside lamps. I feel like being hugged by a very long dark shadow; a perfect darkness where light can guide you no more.

This creepy feeling making me goosebumps. As long as we walk on the alley, there is no sound around, no move is been made. Everything was so silence. Every room which usually full of people in the morning, now is abandoned. I don't have guts to check inside those rooms.

The smell is also weird. It doesn't smell bad, just unusual. The kind of scent that can only been created by fear.

Had enough of this creepy situation, we rush back to the place where we suppose to be. Being in this situation makes me miss the sound of traffic jam.

Finally, we decided to go home and call it a day. We go back to the gazebo on the second floor. Do you know what I found? Yes, two of my friends are still talking seriously. My prediction is they are talking about girls. From what I've experienced, it's men's most concern. Because usually both of them never talk about study subject this serious. If they become this serious, what matter will they talk?

Today, me new experience exploring UAI at night gives me new insight of my campus. At particular time, this so-called boring campus is not boring at all. It's just a matter of our perspective of seeing things. If you want to see different kind of UAI, and also feel it in different situation, you better try it at night. Because in the evening, UAI reveals its beauty and mystery.

Written by Dimas Rizky Pramana