It was December but the freezing nights of Rumba were nowhere close to being noticed.

The rise of the “Demon Crazy” party has brought hope and assuage to the nation in the past few days. During the previous regime of the “Crazy Demon Administration” also known as the CDA, the citizens have gone through a lot of hard time. They haven’t feasted for over 200 years (the regime period of the CDA) and wages were cut in half for their daily consumption of “Oxygen” from the National Air Enterprises, whose stocks were shared only among the top officials of the CDA. The remaining wages were handed out as stones, marked with the National Dog’s Foot Seal; (established as the national currency over the past couple of centuries), barely considered enough for the middle class and for the well-offs, commonly used as the token of bribery on their road to prestige and elite. Occasionally, international  pressure on issues concerning the provision of food to citizens and the government’s  violation of  citizen’s individual rights to “breathing” would be enforced and sanctions occur every now and then. But Rumba didn’t seem to care and maintained its reputation as a corrupted, miserable yet arrogant and proud little nation. The results led to the drastic declination of the nation’s economy and to the death of many bankrupt citizens (according to the No Dog’s Stones; No Air policy).   

But now, all of this is going to be over. Finally after all these years, the citizens’ persistence and patience is going to pay off as equality and prosperity will soon be bestowed upon the whole nation. The Crazy Demon Administration is finally going to step down and will be replaced by the brand new “Demon Crazy” Party; even though its executive committee will still consist of half the CDA. But that doesn’t even matter to the citizens because they have ultimate beliefs that everything is soon going to change. Even the name of the party has changed and so will the mindsets of its leaders; they thought. In fact, it has even promised the country with a generous supply of food and discount on the purchase of “Oxygen”. Ethnic and community leaders arrived at the nation’s capital to acknowledge their appreciation and recognition upon the newly constituted government.

On the very first day of his administration, The Demon Crazy Party Leader (formerly the Deputy Chair of the CDA) appeared on T.V and in public to address his inaugural speech. Firstly he emphasized and promised on the fact that the people of Rumba would no longer have to use Dog’s Stones as their currency; instead, food will be used as the new standard of purchase. Then, he moved on to what he considered the government’s “big favor” by announcing that from then on, the National Air Enterprises will be privatized and hopefully, the costs will decrease reasonably. The citizens thundered into a cheer of applause. After all, their president is a man of integrity. And extremely generous; because not only is he going to give food, he is also going to make breathing air cost less. So, whatever hideous act he had done is to be forgotten for he has promised change within the nation and he, himself has become a changed man. His way of smiling, breathing, waving, (shaving?) has changed and so has his attire. Yes... Even his centuries long uniform is finally gone and replaced by the humble Armani Tux... What more can the citizens expect other than to rejoice? After that, he declared his newly drawn “Pensioners’ Act”, which would promote pension funds up to two pieces of stale bread a week. Old men and women busted into tears of joy and there were also some fireworks, shooting up against the dark night sky, representing the freedom and happiness the nation is experiencing. A great feast was prepared and all the stale, rotten and burnt food that the citizens so longed for was there. International media covered live video footage of the inauguration and the feast.

At that very moment, a family in the city of Bucking ton D.C were having dinner and the situation in Rumba pops up as breaking news on their T.V with a video footage of a young boy gleefully feasting upon his rich bowl of stale porridge. The youngest girl in the family made a disgusted tone and shouted at her father, “I’ll skip dessert... I think I am going to puke”. The father, however, remained in his seat for a rather long while, only to make a sarcastically mocking comment,” They call that food? When will these folks ever learn?” And with that, he threw his unfinished piece of chocolate cheesecake into the trash.

Hla Hpone Myint