Out Of The Mist

Clouds pulled in from all sides of my vision  and ear piercing hiss invaded my ears. For a moment I could hear my own voice howl for help. I curled up into a small ball breathless at what was befalling upon me. The ground shook violently as I was engulfed in a cloud of dust and light and then all went dark and silent and motionless.

I held myself together, curled up into a ball and as the dust began to dissipate I could see my family all around me. My father stood magnificently over me with his shiny eyes peering at me and with a large reassuring hand supporting the back of my head. My little one was pulling on the hairs on my leg in a desperate attempt get me to play with him. My mate sat on my left side and dribbled cool water from a rolled up leaf onto my lips. Other monkeys were milling around in the distant branches above me chattering inaudibly.

What dream was this i had just had that appeared so real and so alien to my mind. I did not know how to even start explaining to everyone what I dreamt and unlike other dreams, I remembered everything, vividly and colourfully and with the full spectrum of emotion that i went through.

I sat up with my back sore from the fall from the tree and father gave me ripe and sweet mango and I gorged on it like I hadn't eaten for a week. I gave my little one some too and he sat quietly chewing on the mango skin and sucking all the inner flesh of the fruit.

What Do Monkeys Dream About

Deep in the world of dreams I stood upright and steady in an unfamiliar landscape. The ground was hard and smooth and flat like the sun baked sands of the estuary in late summer after most of the river has been reduced to a brook. Stars ran swiftly by as bright as the full moon accompanied with a swift roar and carved a path before me like annual migration of the four legged beasts. A strange sweet smell and an orange haze hung noticably in the night air.
I squatted down giddy with the unfamiliarity of what was before me and trembled slightly as I felt the weight of isolation pressing down on me. This was not my home, my date tree, my river. This is not the estuary and this is not late summer. And the migration of four legged beasts was 2 moons ago.

The Enchanted Forest

Waking up before any sign of dawn this morning, the forest was slept under a blanket of mist so thick it looked like the whole world was under an enchanted spell. Climbing down from my bedding high in the canopy I descended to a lower branch and balanced with timed perfection I made my way to my favourite date tree that grew nearby the river. It felt like i was the only one awake at this time since there was not one sound among the trees and the only discernible movement was the gentle sliding by of the surface of the water of the river nearby. I squatted and ate until I felt energized and after a moment of unobliged contemplation about the wonders of my forest habitat, I climbed a little higher into the tree so I could watch the river and see if I could spy any other signs of life other than myself. I could almost be in a dream it was so quiet.
I stretched out high with my hind limbs clutching hold of the branch below me and peered across the landscape, when all of the sudden the supporting bow let out a resounding crack that echoed out and I felt myself in free fall. Leaves and twigs brushed briskly against me and I landed with a dull thud against the forest floor.
I lay there for a moment supine staring upward through a gap in the tree and saw the faint scintillation of some stars directly above me. The mist the pulled in from all sides and slid into a slumber.

Into The Forest

Today I have ventured out into the Big Forest. This is where monkeys from all over this land congregate. Here they meet to make new bonds or contest old ones. They come here to fight over territorial rights or to reinforce their ownership. Some love it here others hate it.

I am quite the gregarious monkey at the most of times but I often go through a phase of just monkey watching. Monkey watching is key to our survival since it's teaches us about how we should behave towards each other and how to react to new situations. My little one over indulged in a ripe mango tree yesterday and is now paying for it. He was up in the early hours of the night with his tummy complaining, which in turn woke up the whole troupe. I am now very tired today and although I hope to sleep more than deeply tonight, I note that it is a full moon and predators will be particularly active.

Oh Look, The Monkey Can Talk

Well, as a proud member of the monkey family, yes I can talk. And to a higher degree I can also think, as well as feel and instinctively react to whatever gets thrown at my senses. My life is not all about bananas and peanuts. From the day I learnt to walk I have explored and questioned, prodded and poked. I guess it was a moment of enlightenment when I realized that for every action there was a reaction and my entire being and existence was probably based on that. I bet it probably never occured to you that monkeys are great thinkers, and after all the foraging for fruits and nuts and grooming each other in the evening twilight, we love to stare at our world and have a think about the world around us.