The Ex-SAC

Walk down the stairs towards the roundabout. Look to the right. The fiberglass panes, the minispiral staircase.

The entire section that didn't exist 4 years ago. What was it like before then, again? It took me more than a minute to remember the image.

I knew there was a ramp. I knew this area was road. I knew this place wasn't like that.

But why couldn't I picture it?

I knew they were there. I couldn't put any mental picture to it. It felt like a scenery I had read in a storybook that was incapable of being pictured in real life realistically.

The ramp that was where the current parade ground is.
The road that every UYO member marched on towards the old parade ground (Now a tiny field of untouched grass).
The substation that used to see the light of day.
The CPA with chairs all worn down and worn out, without a giant cross at the back of the stage to remind you that it served as a chapel on Sundays.
The complete sheltered path from the bus stop to the old block that didn't have zebra crossings in the middle.
The road up to school that was unwalkable because of cars, now flooded with students on the uphill climb.
The 2.12-2.14 '05 classrooms with a nice mini-courtyard just outside for anything under the sun, gone for the library.
The co-op that was along the route from 2.12 to the SAC, now replaced by the lower floor of the library. It always seemed far friendlier.
The old flagposts on Drong's hill (now a mere shadow of its former glorious self) where commands were heard by all, where flagraisers were seen by all and commanders felt like they were truly commanding. (The old parade ground felt similar too, actually. Something about the new parade ground just didn't give that feel.) Where commanding felt like an honour bestowed upon you.

All so alien. All as if it never existed. All because I've been here as it kept changing. Around me, against me, alongside me. Just like the subtle changes in myself I'd never have noticed.

They were so huge, yet so unnoticable.