The Mystery of the Butterfly Garden at KLCC Park

The sun was extra pedih—stinging hot—over Kuala Lumpur, but inside the KLCC Park, the air felt a bit cooler. 10 year-old Eddy wasn’t there to take selfies with the Twin Towers like the tourists. He was there because he was a total “plant geek.” While other kids his age were busy playing Mobile Legends, Eddy was busy staring at Hibiscus petals and counting stamen.

Eddy’s mentor was Uncle Tan, the oldest gardener in the park. Uncle Tan was a legend. He knew the name of every single caterpillar and the mood of every single fern. But a month ago, Uncle Tan had retired and moved to a quiet village in Melaka. Before he left, he gave Eddy his old, sweat-stained gardening hat and a wink.

“Eddy, the butterflies know where the heart of the garden is hidden,” Uncle Tan had said in his heavy Malaysian accent. “Don’t just see. Observe.”

The Strange Dance

Eddy sat by the Butterfly Garden, a small paradise tucked away from the joggers and the noisy kids at the playground. He had his notebook out. Suddenly, he noticed something pelik—weird.

A bright orange Common Tiger butterfly didn’t just flutter randomly. It landed on a red Hibiscus, then flew straight to a yellow Canna Lily, then circled a Blue Pea vine. A few minutes later, another butterfly did the exact same thing. Red, Yellow, Blue.

“Wait lah,” Eddy whispered to himself. “That’s a pattern.”

He looked at his notebook. Uncle Tan’s old sketches were messy, but there was a drawing of those exact three flowers. Underneath, Uncle Tan had written: “The colors of the flag show the way, but only when the sun is at its peak.”

Eddy checked his Casio watch. It was 1:00 PM. The sun was directly overhead. He looked at the shadows cast by the flowers. The shadows of the three flowers pointed like tiny arrows toward a massive, old Rain Tree near the edge of the pond.

The Hidden Message

Eddy ran over to the tree. Its trunk was huge, covered in moss and ferns. He searched the bark until his fingers felt something smooth that wasn’t wood. Tucked into a knot in the tree was a small, rusted Milo tin.

His heart was thumping. “No way man,” he breathed.

Inside the tin was a piece of yellowed paper. It was a map of the park, but drawn by hand. At the bottom, there was a riddle in Malay: “Cari tempat di mana besi bertemu hijau, di bawah naungan sang kancil yang tidak bergerak.” (Find the place where iron meets green, under the shade of the mouse-deer that doesn’t move.)

“Iron meets green… that’s the whole park!” Eddy scratched his head. “But the mouse-deer that doesn’t move?”

Then it hit him. Near the children’s pool, there were those stone sculptures of forest animals. One of them was a Sang Kancil!

The Race Against the Rain

As Eddy hurried toward the sculptures, the sky began to turn a moody charcoal grey. A typical KL afternoon—it was going to hujan lebat (rain heavily) soon.

He reached the stone Sang Kancil. The sculpture was cool to the touch. He looked “under the shade” and saw a loose brick at the base of the pedestal. Just as he pulled the brick out, the first heavy drops of rain began to fall. Splash!

Inside the hollow space was a small wooden box wrapped in plastic. Eddy tucked it under his shirt to keep it dry and ran for cover under the bridge near the waterfall.

The Lost Heirloom

Under the bridge, shivering slightly from the sudden cold, Eddy opened the box.

Inside was a beautiful, antique gold brooch shaped like a butterfly, with tiny emeralds for eyes. There was also a letter:

“Dear Eddy, if you are reading this, you’ve proven you have the eyes of a true botanist. This brooch belonged to my grandmother. She was one of the first people to plant seeds in this area before the big towers were even built. I lost it years ago and only found it when I was clearing the bushes before I retired. I wanted to leave it for someone who truly loves this garden. This is the ‘Heart of the Garden.’ Keep it safe, or give it to the museum so everyone can see our history. Syabas, my boy.”

Eddy looked at the brooch. It shimmered even in the grey light of the storm. He realized that the “heirloom” wasn’t just the gold; it was the connection to the land, the history of the city, and the secret language of the nature surrounding the steel towers.

He smiled, feeling like a real-life detective. He wasn’t just a “plant geek” anymore. He was the protector of the park’s secrets.