The Ghost of Monty Cinto by Samir Konnur ( Illustrations by Dall.e 2)

Brad and three of his friends, all 23 years of age, along with a guide, had just completed a 4 day backpacking trip on a remote island in the Pacific, about 20 miles from the big island of Hawaii. Having recently graduated from college they were still trying to figure out what they wanted to do in life. Someone had suggested they experience seclusion for a few days to help discover themselves . Being young and impressionable, they had jumped on the idea. And here they were in this largely uninhabited remote Pacific island along with an experienced local guide they had hired for this trip.

It was quite an adventure but now as they climbed down the last hill to the harbor, they were all thinking about the journey back home. While Brad had booked a berth on a private yatch scheduled for next morning to take him to San Francisco, others were scheduled to travel on the evening ferry that docked once a week on this island. That ferry will take them to the big island of Hawaii from where they would fly home to New York city. As they rounded a corner on the forested trail , the views opened up and they could see the harbor a few hundred feet below by the cove.

Since Brad had to spend another night on the island, he found a nice spot to camp for the night and left his backpack under the tree. And rejoined the group as they proceeded down to the harbor. In the distance the ferry boat showed up as scheduled, a slender silhouette on the horizon. By now group had reached the small tin roofed harbor building

As they all settled in, reflecting on the last incredible four days and thinking about what lay ahead, unexpectedly out of the blue a ferocious storm rolled in. Winds began to howl , waves crashed on the shore with rage , storm clouds darkened the sky and then boom. A huge lightning struck , the flash was so bright that it momentarily blinded everyone.Captain of the boat radioed in to the harbormaster that this change in weather meant the boat will find another safe harbor for tonight and will return tomorrow to pick up the passengers. Brad's group huddled together anxious at this unexpected delay in their reunion with their families.

But to their amazement as soon as the ferry boat had left, the storm cleared and the seas became calm again. Brad's guide commented that the storm seemed to have made an appearance as if just to stop them from leaving the island but as he was speaking his eyes caught another sight that was way more concerning. The lightning had struck the tree under which Brad had left his backpack, destroying all the contents of the backpack . Guide commented that it was weirdest of coincidence that the storm had just arrived to stop them from leaving the island and the only thing it destroyed was Brad's backpack.

Just then Brad now clearly shaken and distressed, uttered " it is the ghost of Monty Cinto"

Others looked at Brad bewildered, questioning what the hell was he talking about. Brad, still visibly unnerved , his stare on the distant horizon, repeated ' ‘ it is the ghost of Monty Cinto, who did this”  Since this time Brad stated that very deliberately, everyone fell silent. After what felt like a long time, the guide inquired , "what is this ghost of Monty Cinto and how does Brad know about it ?"

Brad narrated that 4 days ago when they had arrived on the island and camped near one of the many ruined buildings scattered on the island, it was his turn to cook and he had used some ingredients from his own recipe to flavour the food.

That night after I slept I had a vision. I was transported back in time when those ruins were fully functioning buildings ,and there were lots of uniformed servicemen working at the site. Then a shrill bell rang and men scrambled into a huge dining hall , where the aroma arising from the kitchen put everyone in a trance. Soon lunch was served and they began to devour it happily. And the men chatted that had it not been for the chef , that food would have tasted like dog food. After the meal , they all started clapping and cheering ,‘ Monty, Monty’ , and out come from the kitchen, a young and dashing ‘ Monty Cinto’ wearing the white apron of a chef.

He thanked the servicemen for their patronage and told them it was his dream to someday open his own restaurant in New York city and serve such finger licking gourmet cuisine to everyone, especially poor ,who couldnt afford to go to those expensive Michelin star restaurants. He added that they were all invited and he coudnt wait for this goddamn war to get over so he could realize his manifest destiny. Just as Monty finished his speech, the air raid sirens went off , warning about the presence of enemy aircarft nearby . As the soldiers ran to the bunkers for safety, Monty instead ran back into the kitchen, someone tried to stop him that it was not safe to stay above ground, Monty commented that he needed to collect his families heirloom that he had safely kept below his kitchen platform in a black chest , and without that heirloom his life was any way worthless. Just as Monty entered the kitchen, there was a huge explosion, the kitchen had taken a direct missile hit such was the ferocity of the blast that it destoyed the entire building above ground. 

Brad's companions were all on alert now, their tone changed , after all they were on a remote island in middle of the vast Pacific, thousands of miles away from their families and home in NYC. But they still confronted Brad ,that he might be hallucinating ,that it might be just the place that spooked him. Brad was now shuddering and in his cracking voice replied “ I wish it was just my hallucination” and then continued that he did not think too much about it the first night but the second night he again had a vision, and this time it was Monty himself. In his energetic and optimistic voice he told Brad that he loved the aroma from the food he had cooked previous night and that his recipe felt similar to the one Monty’s mother had given him. He further explained that as Brad found out in his vision the previous night , Monty was unable to fulfill his destiny of serving haute cuisine to poor families in NYC and that Brad should now take that up as his mission.

Monty then held Brad’s hand and guided him to towards the bombed out ruins and carefully avoiding any sharp debris , showed a small black chest that was bolted to the floor plate and somehow had survived wars of men and nature alike. As instructed by Monty, Brad opened the chest to reveal a diary , and as he glanced through it, there were hundreds of recipes all remarkably detailed and carefully indexed. Monty commented that finally he is handing over the family heirloom to the rightful owner , Brad obviously could not understand what Monty meant.

Back at the harbour , one of his friends remarked that Brad was just using the coincidence of the storm and lightning strike to scare them and questioned whether he had any evidence to back these wild supenatural, implausible tales. Brad now sweating profusely, his hands trembling, pulled a leather folder from the knapsack that he was still carrying with him and holding it in front of the group offered " here is that diary”

Now , everyone in the group was panic-stricken as they realized Brad was not making this up. The guide walked up to the harbor master and inquired about the islands history. Harbor master mentioned that the ruins at the top of the cliffs were indeed a military outpost during the 2nd world war and being close to Hawaii, played a crucial role in the Pacific theatre of war. And at any given time there were roughly about 500 enlisted men on the island. But when the guide inquired if anyone of the name Monty Cinto was part of that island company, the harbor master responded that such information could only be provided by the Naval office on the main island. And since they were particularly curious about this, he would radio the Naval HQ in Hawaii and make some inquiries for them and check about Monty.

The guide sensing the distress of his group spiraling out of control , took charge of the situation. He pointedly asked Brad that while he believed in his story so far but inquired why would Monty stop them from leaving the island. Brad explained that he had objected to Monty's request about fulfilling his dream of opening a restaurant in NYC and had not shown any particular enthusiasm to take it forward. He told Monty that while his friends were indeed heading back home to New York city tonight, he will be taking a boat tomorrow to San Francisco. Monty had smiled back at him and informed that wouldn't be the case.

Now even the guide was becoming nervous , everyone was just consumed by fear ,just then the harbor master called out for them. He had heard back from the Naval HQ. Records confirmed that there was a chef by the name of Monty Cinto, he was loved by everyone, he had such a generous spirit and the food he prepared was delicious beyond words.

And by the way he added , Monty was reported missing in action after the Japanese attack on the island and even now military records show him as missing since his body has never been found. Further records showed that Monty was 23 when he went missing on the island and he had a distinct heart shaped birthmark on his left chest.

Hearing this , Brad collapsed on the ground . After the group sprayed some water on his face, Brad regained consciousness. By now everyone including the harbour master had collected around him, concerned for his well being. Harbor master who had overheard Brad's story asked him to calm down since events leading up to Monty's disappearance happened such a long time ago.  

Still trembling , Brad responded in a faint quivering voice, "Now I know why destiny choose this island for my self discovery , what Monty meant when he said I was the rightful owner for that diary and slowly removed his t-shirt , revealing a heart shaped birthmark on his left chest.