Simian's Truth

         There was once a Bonobo ape wondering through the swamp forestlands of the Congo. He was the smallest of his troupe, and therefore had no mate. He was scrawny and had to fight for every scrap of food that he found. He spent most of his days digging out termites and ants, as they were his only true source of food that was rarely taken by force. Early one morning as he made his way down to a huge termite mound that he had found on the previous day he heard a whisper that he couldn’t comprehend. Then a light brighter than the sun itself shined down upon him and his entire troupe. As all the other bonobos ran and cowered, he shielded his eyes and stood firm. Out of the light came a hand that he was immediately drawn to. As he reached toward the light and his hand joined with the other beings he began to hear a voice, “I need your help”, it said softly. Suddenly, he was taken up into the light and was transported to an open field near a small fishing village. At this point the young ape was very confused and started to panic. As he began to scream and become aggressive with the being in the light he was abruptly released and fell into the field he began to roll downhill and ended up face first in the dong of what must have been a very large creature. He lifted his head and began to shake his fist and beat his chest at the light, screaming all the while. “Be calm”, the light spoke and he was. Just then a beautiful red and white mushroom emerged from the light and again the being spoke, “You must eat this and come back to find me in 3 days time” it said as it ascended back into the sky.
The now very frightened and confused ape grew extremely tired and fell asleep in the field. He slept for hours until finally awaking in the middle of the night still confused and very hungry. He had all but forgotten the events that had taken place to bring him to the field. As he began to rise and make his way back to his old stump he noticed the beautiful thing in his hand and devoured it without a thought. It was good but not enough for the entire day, which he had somehow managed to sleep through. So he wondered towards his old hunting grounds on his way back to the troupe to find some other source of food. After an hour or so he realized that he was back in the strange field that he had awoken in. Frustrated and a bit sick he saw more of the mysterious fruit that he had eaten earlier and quickly began to pick and devour as many as he could find before becoming violently ill. His stomach cringed as he began to vomit and fall to the ground in pain. His head spinning all he could think to do was close his eyes and hang on as he collapsed onto his stump, finally making it back to his troupe. He lay there for what seemed an eternity his mind swirling with thoughts and images he could not yet comprehend and then nothing. Everything went eerily still and he felt a sense of calm come over him. He felt at peace now, his head clear for the first time in his menial existence. Then, off in the distance heard a long low bellow . Bwaaaaaaaah”, it sang out as it filled the dead night air with life again. The Ape lifted his head and listened for the strange sound once more. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, the thing bellowed once more this time a bit longer and then nothing. As the little ape spun around to try and catch a glimpse of what might be the cause of the strange, now menacingly louder and more frequent sound, he heard a rustle in the bush. Now this usually meant danger at this time of night and as far as he could tell the rest of his company had moved on without him and he seemed to be completely alone and exposed. His fears were growing, and helpless as he may have been, the little ape stood his ground and began to beat his chest and shout from his stump. He was tired and had no fight left in him. None the less he put on a show, for that’s what he was supposed to do because he was an ape. An ape? Stillness. What was an ape? He fell back onto his haunches and began to ponder the word he had just discovered. It wasn’t long before this brought up more questions and sent him into a bit of a panic. It was all becoming too much for the little ape and he began to hear the dreadful horn again. Bwaaaaaaaaaah! Then there was a loud CRACK! Followed by a crash. And another, and then another, it was heading his way and it was getting close. As he braced himself for what was to come a colossal grey gorilla emerged from the brush fiercely roaring and coming at the little ape full throttle. Before he could do anything he was in the large bipeds grasp and the life was being squeezed from him. The giant apes grip tightening with every breath; the young primates life was starting to slip away. As he felt his bones snap from the extreme force being applied he felt a calm overcome him. All the fear was gone and there was only peace left. Then another loud crack, this time it shook the heavens and the great ape released his grip and fell down dead. The little Bonobo violently fell to the ground.
Broken; the little ape was all but traumatized as he lay his head back down on the now oddly frigid hard ground, “This must be my eternal rest” he thought to himself. His eyes drooped and he felt a great calm abruptly overtake him. Just as everything around him became veiled in darkness he heard the horn again this time it was so loud it could have been behind him. Bwaaaaaaaaaah, and then footsteps crunching the now frozen grass and mud. He looked up to find himself surrounded by little grey creatures that could probably have fit in the palm of his minute hands. Their eyes were enormous and very much out of proportion with the rest of their little faces. The oddest thing he observed about the creatures was that they all looked identical except that each set of eyes were a different color than the last. As he watched them circle around his gaze was abruptly stolen by one set of eyes that stood out from the rest. They were pure ebony. Darker and colder than anything he had ever known. He grew fearful but could not relinquish his gaze. Starting to panic he tried to call out but was cut off by the dark eyed fellow. “ Hello Simian.” He called out in a minute slightly high tone. “ Nod your head if you understand me.” He said now standing over the ape. The little ape gave a confused expression and quickly nodded. “Good, now you must listen to us all for your life and the lives of your family all depend on how you react to this message.
It had now began to snow and as the little ape lay there hopelessly in the cold he glanced over at the dead giant that lay just a few feet away and then looked back at the little creature. “Ah yes the behemoth. He is your ancestor and your enemy. Do not try to find solace in the fact that he appears dead now for he is immortal, as for my friend, your something much more special than that. He will come back and he will try and destroy you. We’ve gone against our own code and harmed another so that you could remember. We won’t do it again.” As the little creature spoke those final words to Simian he noticed that they were no longer in the forest and it had become quite cold with snow completely covering everything as far as he could see. “This is your first of the many trials that you will face in the coming days. There is no time limit and there are no rules. Your task is simple; find your way home. Good luck Simian, we will be watching.” He said as he and his companions vanished. The trail had begun and Simian still had no clue as to what was going on.