Week 3 Storytelling: The Mad Monkey

 

Rama and Lakshmana conferring with Sugreeva (Source)

“Human Breaks Through City Walls, Terror Is A Misunderstanding.”

The words ran across the front page of every newspaper in Kishkinda. Steve dropped the paper on the kitchen table with a sigh.

“I just don’t understand,” he grumbled aloud. “Why do we keep helping these humans who come through our city? All they do is cause trouble for us! I remember when this town used to be safe. A monkey could go to work without worrying about getting mauled by an angry man.”

His wife, Linda, came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders sympathetically. “I know, dear, it’s an awful thing to see. But don’t worry, they’ll be gone soon. Sugreeva will help them find that man’s wife and we will have our home at peace again,” she reassured him.

“Don’t even get me started on that lazy ass Sugreeva. We were doing fine with Vali as king. Then his brother had to get involved. Assassination, corruption…” Steve pushed away from the table and walked over to the window. “We’d be better off not being able to communicate with that species at all."

“We’ll be fine! The city is strong and the King would never let any harm come to us. You don’t have to worry.”

Steve pressed his forehead against the cool glass and closed his eyes, a dull pain forming between them. “Please, Linda, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m going to bed.”

With that he went upstairs and shut the world out, slipping into the warm pleasure of ignorant sleep.

-

The next morning, Steve walked into work not feeling any better. As he passed the spot where Lakshmana had torn down the palace gate, bitterness surged through him. He hurried up to the office. Inside, there was a buzz of energy as people whispered about the prior day’s events. He sat down, his body already feeling heavy and exhausted before the day even began.

“Hiya Steve!” Glen’s goofy smile popped up over the cubicle wall. “Crazy about the attack yesterday, huh? No worries, though! Hanuman says everything is fine. All a big misunderstanding! Which, boy oh boy, made me feel a lot better because we’ve got that company bowling tournament this weekend and…” Glen rattled on and on about Vishnu knows what. Steve closed his eyes, that dull pounding coming back between them. The phone at his desk began to ring again. The prattle echoed in his ears.

Clenching his teeth, Steve interrupted, “This isn’t really a good time, Glen.”

“Not a good time? Oh come on, Steve-O! Buck up! Don’t you worry about that tournament. I’m a great bowler!” Glen laughed. The phone kept ringing. Somewhere down the hall the copier was jammed and screeching. Glen was going on about bowling. The phone again.

Steve snapped. He jumped up out of his chair and ripped the phone out of wall and threw it on the floor. A silence fell over the office and they all turned to look at him. Glen stood stupefied.

“Are you all IDIOTS? Don’t you know that this isn’t going to just go away? Our palace wall was blown to pieces not twenty-four hours ago!” He yelled and turned to Glen. “And I don’t give a rat’s ass about the stupid bowling tournament!” He stormed off, muttering to himself about the idiocy of his own monkey race. 

He decided to walk home, wanting to calm down before seeing his wife again. The air was cool, and some moisture remained from the long rainy season they had. The breeze blew through the tree tops and rustled the leaves. He took a deep breath.

“Am I going crazy here?” Steve thought aloud. “Why am I the only one who sees the danger in getting involved with these humans? No good can come of this, I know it. I feel it…” His thoughts consumed him all the way home. When he reached the front door, he took a moment to collect himself. He spread the best smile he could muster across his face and opened the door.

“Hello, darling, I knocked off early fro-”, he stopped. The living room was dark. He looked around confused. Closing the front door, he walked into the kitchen, also dark. He was about to go look upstairs when he heard shuffling at the table. He turned on the lights and saw Linda sitting there, staring at the wall. She was holding something, although he couldn’t make out what it was.

“What are you doing? What’s wrong?” That pain was coming back.

Linda didn’t say anything. Her fingers traced along the edges of what Steve now saw was an envelope.

“Linda?” Steve asked again. Nothing. “What is that?” There was fear in his voice now.

Finally Linda turned, her face coming into the light. Her eyes were rimmed with tears, although her face was expressionless.

“We’re going to war. Against the rakshasas.” Her voice was slow and calm. She looked up at him, her face finally breaking into tears. 

“They’ve called you to fight.”

~~

Author's Note: This story is based off of the monkeys who Rama and Lakshmana encounter in Kishkinda in 'The Ramayana.' The original story itself does not really offer much information about the monkeys who live in Kishkinda, only the major characters like Vali and Sugreeva. While I was reading the part of the story involving the monkeys, I found myself wondering how normal it is in epics that animals can talk. Interestingly enough, their behavior is based on human behavior. You would think that animals would be a little different - although that is mentioned once when the brothers are fighting each other. Jokingly, I thought that animals probably wish they never even knew how to talk to humans. That way, they would never get asked for favors and never have to get involved in battles and search parties that don't involve them. Eventually that led me to creating a back story for the monkeys who end up fighting for Rama in the Battle of Lanka. The interesting part is that while I was writing, I found a lot of the sentiments relevant to today (even though I was writing about monkeys). I tried to add some humor to make it more of a dark comedy type. 

  

Bibliography: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.