There’s an island, and it’s full of beauty.
Surrounded by a ring of creamy white sand that feels warm and soothing on your feet, It’s where the gentle waves break into millions of droplets, reflecting the sun lights like shattered emeralds. And the sound of waves is in harmony with the whispering hums of coconuts trees on its shore, standing tall and proud, bearing fruits ripened with the most refreshing juice.
Moving further into the island, it’s full of life, thriving with biodiversity. Trees and plants in different shades of vibrant green grow there. The floor is bedded blossoming flowers, both with names, and those yet to be named. The island is a home for countless exotic birds, singing shamelessly or dancing provocatively, either looking for mates or calling for food. The hares, deers or even the squirrels don’t seem to mind though. But among the many species of land animals residing in the island, the Monkey Island monkeys certainly stands out from the rest. After all, they are the reason why it’s called Monkey Island.
Make no mistake, and they are not any ordinary monkeys. No bigger than 3 feet tall standing, they are coated with silky furs, soft and fine like cotton candy. And its colour changes from light beige to creamy white, depending on the direction of the wind blow. They have big, round dark eyes that seem to conceal the depth of the night sky, and reflect all the wonders of a sparkling galaxy. They have a beautiful tail, longer than their height on its full extend, and It constantly curls or waves gently sideways depending on their mood.
The monkeys spend most of the day sitting on mango trees, munching on its fruits until their hands cover with sugary juice. With their stomach full with fruits and nuts, they entertain themselves by hopping from one tree to another, swinging on its branch by their tails. Or they nap lazily in pairs under the shade of coconut trees when the sun is highest. Without many natural predators to fear, at first glance, these monkeys are the master of the island.
Now, as we covered the beauties, let’s also talk about the hideous beings on the island. Of course, hideous in relative to the beauty of the rest.
And they are the humans on the island.
No one knows exactly how this particular species came about to the island. Some say they always have been a part of the place, just like the rocks, waves and the wind. Although It’s hard to believe given their idiosyncratic characteristics which stand out like a splinter with the rest of beings on the island, it’s a plausible theory nonetheless.
Others say that once upon a time, they were a part of the beautiful monkeys. The legend has it that a long time ago, a group of particularly greedy monkeys diverged into humans when they branched out to the other side of the island in the search for new apples-like fruit.
Only the waves would know the truth, and either way, it matters not. Regardless of how hideous humans are, they are an undeniable part of the island now.
There are many peculiar characteristics of humans, which makes them so hideous. They are creatures driven by curiosity and fear — the fear of missing out. Somehow the humans seem to believe that there are always better things than what they already have in their hands at a given moment. Naturally, It resulted in some bizarre tendencies unique to humans. And the most hideous of all, without doubt, is their taste for the monkey meat.
Despite many delicacies the island offers, ranging from the sweetest melon to all kinds of grains one can possibly imagine, there’s nothing these humans like more than devouring a perfectly roasted thigh of a monkey. No one knows how the initial thought of eating these beautiful beings even came across in human’s minds, but they have been eating the monkeys for many generations. Not being able to have enough of it is the only problem for them.
As the monkeys spend most of their time on tall mango trees, combined with their keen sense of hearing and nimble feet, it makes them incredibly hard target to catch. When it comes to climbing trees, no animal on the island can be a match.
However, there’s one sure way to catch these monkeys that have been worked well for humans throughout the time.
And it goes like this.
First, find a coconut, which is hardly a task given its abundance on the island. Then make a circular hole on the coconut shell that’s barely big enough for an average monkey’s empty hand to passthrough. The next step is to drain the juice through the hole and fill the now empty coconut with plenty of peanuts, which is one of the favourite snacks for the monkeys. Lastly, tie a few of these coconut shells under mango trees and secure it with strings. Then wait patiently until the next morning.
The night comes to the island without fail. The specks of bright stars started to appear on the inky night sky. And as the night deepens, lives on the island slowly retreat into sleep, including the humans.
However, for the monkeys on the mango tree, the savoury scent of peanuts from the ground is impossible to ignore. It’s carried by the night breeze, the wisp of sweetened air. They wait patiently for the night to ripe further, and the silence to thicken.
And finally, deep into the mid-night when there’s no sound except occasional owls cry, and the bustling of passing wind, the monkeys make their long-waited move to the ground in search for the nuts.
Immediately, they locate the coconut shells full of enticing nuts at the bottom of mango trees. The monkeys survey the surrounding once more to ensure there are no visible traps or watching eyes hiding in the darkness. Soon, feeling safe and alone, they squeeze their tiny hand through the hole on the coconut shell and voraciously grab as many nuts as they can possibly hold. Ecstatic with all the nuts they can feel in their palm, the monkeys quickly try to pull it out from the shell.
But they’d find it impossible to free their hand from the tied coconut. There’s no way a hand bulged with a handful of nuts can pass back out through the hole that was barely big enough for their empty hand to squeeze through earlier. They tighten the grip on the nuts and try again, but it’s simply cannot be done as long as they are holding on to the nuts. They are stuck. The only way out is to let go of all the nuts in their hand.
These monkeys spend the entire night trying to free themselves while continuing to hold on to the nuts. As hours pass by, they quickly become exhausted with the efforts, but the last thing they will do is to let go of the nuts in their hands.
To free themselves, all they need to do is open their hand. But for them, it’s impossible to let go of something that is already in their hand.
The morning comes to the island without fail. And the burnt orange ball of the sun starts to peak on the horizon. It’s time for the humans to wake up with mouth-watering anticipation of roasted monkey meat for their breakfast.
They stroll down to the beach to find the traps they placed on the previous day. From a distance, they can see exhausted monkeys with their hand stuck inside the coconut. The monkeys start to squeal, and their beautiful eyes widening with terror as they noticed the approaching humans armed with clubs on their hand.
But even at that moment, they still can’t let go of the nuts and run for their life. The monkeys continue to firmly hold on to the nut as they panic, until very last moment when their heads meet the blunt force of club that instantly cracks their tinny skulls.
By the time the sun fully emerge from the horizon in its full glory, the humans already made a cooking fire, skinned the monkeys thoroughly, and roasted its meat carefully to preserve its flavour.
Then without further wait, they all dig into the savoury and sweet flesh of monkeys that’s been ripened with years of a rich diet consists of various nuts and fruits in the island.
As they indulge into the rare delicacy, they also marvel at the ingenuity of their method as well as the stupidity of these beautiful creatures. After all, how hard is it to just let go of few nuts? There are plenty of other foods on the island. How foolish are these monkeys in comparison to the intelligence of humans? They talk and laugh out loud while sucking on the last bits of bone marrow.
But the joy of the feast doesn’t last very long.
Soon after the meal, with their belly full of rich meat, they sit by the shore and stare at the horizon of the ocean. The island has been truly great for humans. It provides everything they need — food, shelter, endless beauty, and there are no other creatures on the island that pry on them.
But even then, being in their nature, humans can’t help but wonder what else is out there across the horizon that they might be missing out.
What lies beyond the line where the ever-great sunrise from every morning? So far, the sacred sun, the source of all life has been rising every morning without fail, but who’s to say that it will always be the case? What if the sun doesn’t rise tomorrow and the day after?
One question leads to another question, and soon, their hearts filled with worries and agitation for things that are yet to be present.
The short-lived joy of feast already forgotten, with their heart heavy with worries, humans quickly move on to their search for more. More of anything. And everything.
Unlike the monkeys, humans have no problem let go of their hands. And yet, instead of nuts in their hand, they hold on to the past, and the future in their heart.
And just like the monkeys, they always fail to let it go. They carry it in their heart for all of their life, until their very last breath.
Welcome to the monkey island.
