A Macaque's Memento

Deep in the Jungle of the North Maluku islands, a giant man-made green bird fell from the sky. Those in its insides dangled motionless in the trees. While every wildlife watched from a safe distance, the damaged bird was quickly engulfed in a red inferno. The storm clouds soon rolled in from Mount Binaya, and the teardrops from the skies extinguished the flames.

Afterwards, only embers remained.

Brave young males decided to scour what was left. It is especially a time of the essence for them to prove their worth to the tribe. If they don’t scavenge something useful from the rubble, they soon will be forced out of their birth group, as it has always been the way of the Celebes crested Macaques.

Out of a dozen juveniles, Manadotua, Walai, and Yaki shared the deepest bond. They were the smallest and still hadn’t outgrown their baby-brown-hair stage. The bigger kids would taunt them as being ‘puny Tarsiers-’ and bullying was relentless. They could only hiss and expose their puny fangs as their only form of retaliation, but every monkey knew it was only an empty threat. The tiny trio kept a watchful distance from the musclehead troops that led the reconnaissance.

Yaki was the smallest of them all, and he also wasn’t a great climber. For this reason, he was unilaterally ‘volunteered’ to be the look-out for the bigger boys. While he stayed at floor level, he felt extra cautious, as the elders warned about all of the beasts down by the tree roots that devoured little naughty Macaques that wouldn’t abide by tribal rules. Yaki was most afraid of the Dragon: It was said to be the size of several islands, more venomous than a Pit Viper, and a jaw as big as Mount Ibu’s crater, dripping with molten blood. He shivered with the very thought, all alone and nervously gazed upwards at the Jungle canopy that faded into the clouds.

Leading the salvaging escapade was Lembeh, who embodied the alpha male characteristics in every way. His crown hair has already formed impressively into a crest. Even the adult males were beginning to get intimidated by him. He has been just a few estimable actions away from proving his worth to stay in the tribe. It explained why he was so eager and ambitious to find anything of relevance for the elders from the crash site.

Climbing above their familiar ground, the young troops entered the mystical Halmahera rainforest. The air was thin at such a high altitude, and the ground where Yaki was left behind was no longer visible: Nothing lived up there other than the clouds.

Navigating through the dense fog and following the pungent odor of fuel and death, the younglings trudged forward. Lembeh suddenly shrieked in startlement when he found the charred remains of one of the foreign beings that slumped on the thick Conifer branch. When they approached, the Macaques cautiously swatted at the corpse to make sure it was not a threat. Lembeh and the others noticed the dead human with irregular objects fitted onto its body.

While the young troops froze in fear of the giant corpse, fearless Lembeh plucked a green Sambak palm from nearby the tree and pelted the green man to be certain that there wouldn’t be any surprises.

Monkeys see, Monkeys do…

The other younglings followed the leader’s cue, and each threw the unripe fruit at the dead soldier. They hissed and exposed their fangs for good measure.

Fully convinced that it was safe to approach the foreign giant, Lembeh began ransacking the front pockets of the corpse’s charred vest. The dead human carried many things: All made of hard, inedible material that were cold to the touch. There was also a strange square object with one eye attached to the shoulder harness. Close to the corpse's chest were pouches that contained dark green, unripe pinecones. They were still connected to the vest with what seemed like a hard circular stem. Lembeh decided to lick the exotic fruit to see if it was edible, but felt no sense of satisfaction. Flustered, he decided to yank on the strange fruits to take them off the deceased giant.

Boy does not know his own strength. In the process of pulling the stem from the strange fruit, one of them came off with a ‘Ping’, along with some sort of hardened Begonia-like leaf that crumbled off. There was a faint ‘Click’ that went with it. Lembeh quickly lost interest and decided to prance over to the man-made green bird that was just up ahead.

A few hops after he turned his back, there was a deafening explosion, an incredible fireball, sparks, and pink mist. Tree branches and debris tumbled below to where Yaki stood guard. The other boys swiftly took refuge on another evergreen tree branch. The blast blew Lembeh over to the fallen green bird. He initially had the wind knocked out of him, but he regained his composure and howled with testosterone-fueled resilience. The other younglings were mesmerized by his tenacity and chanted in high-pitched screams. They instantly gave him their allegiance.

Down below the trees, Yaki was startled by the sudden blast up above. Did the volcano somehow erupt, or did a rogue thunder strike his friends? As he wondered, the little one was rained down upon by Sambak palms, splintered branches, mysterious bones, and charred limbs, and the little one ran as fast as he could to safety.

After the chaos settled, Yaki cautiously crawled out from behind the tree trunk, and he paced through the smoke and debris. With his little heart racing, he wanted to investigate what fell from above. He was most worried about finding one of his friends injured, or worse…

Aside from the horrific carnage that rained down all over the forest grounds, Yaki did not witness any familiars. That was a relief. At least Manadotua, Walai, and the others were still up above, hopefully safe. Whatever was dead, that’s scattered all around him was some other lifeform. While he combed through the raffle, he found a black cube that was attached to a mangled stem and charred cloth. The mysterious thing fit in the palm of his hand.

When he nibbled on the red nipple on top, it suddenly chirped, and the flat side of the mystery object lit up. Startled, Yaki instinctively threw it away from him. Even at a safe distance, the little one could see a bright light being emitted from this strange device. He finally gathered enough courage to probe at the thing with a stick. It did not bite back, but instead radiated vivid colors he had never seen before! As he inched closer, the flat side of the novelty item showed incredible images of a world beyond the mountains and the Maluku islands.

Mesmerized, the little inquisitive one picked up the black box and gently tapped the images trapped in the device. He soon found that when he ‘pushed’ the images, they would get bigger. When he scrolled his finger up or down, there would be more images. He was absolutely fascinated!

Enchanted by these new world visions, Yaki completely forgot all about his primary role of being on guard. His little feet suddenly felt the earth tremble beneath, along with a muffled gallop that echoed from every direction. The twigs snapped, and leaves shook off to the ground. Something massive was jostling towards him in great numbers.

The Macaque youngling jumped out of the way right in time before being trampled by the stampeding herd of Mountain Anoa, who were panicking due to the explosion caused by Lembeh.

Something in the little primate compelled him to point the black gadget and press on the bright nipple on top. With a mechanical sound that followed, Yaki was able to capture his very first photograph of the chaotic scene. He also discovered that just by flicking his tiny finger on the rear touch screen to the right or left, he could choose from capturing a still or a continuous version of the moment he was experiencing. It could even replay the moment, just like in a dream.

Yaki was transfixed by this incredible dream-capturing black box. He immediately turned his attention to taking more photos and videos of things that have always interested him. That was when he heard familiar calls from the bushes across from him. As he used his thumb and index finger on the flat screen, he zoomed in on the bushes; he astoundingly saw the most beautiful female Macaque enter his frame. The excitement of such an elegant sight made him fumble and drop the magical bibelot.

Along with a few elders, there was Talise- The girl who always made Yaki’s heart flutter as if he had butterflies trapped inside. They heard and saw the explosion and immediately came by to investigate. The wise seniors glared impatiently at the puny young male and demanded answers to what was happening up above and why there was such a thunderous raucous.

Briefly in a trance-like state with Talise’s presence, Yaki nearly forgot to show the proper submissive formalities to the elders. Snapping out of his daydreaming, he was just starting to demonstrate his discovery of the dream-catching device. However, before he could begin his presentation, Lembeh and his entourage swiftly came down from the Conifer tree, swinging on a Lianas vine, then somersaulting with a perfect landing, directly in front of Yaki. His dramatic entrance made even the elders hoot in excitement.

The charismatic young hero reenacted the sequence of events above the trees to the elders, unsolicitedly having Manadotua and Walai be his props. He boasted how he, and he alone, was brave enough to wrestle the undead giant into submission. As he spectacularly drop-kicked the two reluctant younglings, Lembeh snarled that he was nearly killed by its poisonous pinecone that had the power of many volcanic eruptions. Ultimately, the junior Alpha was victorious! The entire group chanted in excitement over the valor and tenaciousness of this natural-born leader.

Not skipping a beat, Lembeh motioned to his underlings to bring what he had salvaged from the wreckage above. Aside from the exotic snacks at the back end of the man-made green bird, this young elite also found more detonating green pinecones and a maliciously dark, rigid branch loaded with heaps of sharp seeds. The elders were mesmerised by all of these outworldly objects.

Meanwhile, Yaki was feeling completely sidelined and stared defeatedly at his black box. After the treasure trove Lembeh brought back, and his heroic efforts, poor Yaki could not possibly follow the Alpha male’s performance. The little camera boy began to remove himself from the impromptu show-and-tell in the middle of the forest and contemplated self-exile from the birth group. Little did he know, someone was watching…

Talise noticed earlier what Yaki had in his small hands and approached him non-threateningly to gently ask about the mysterious gadget. He was startled, blushed, and fumbled with the black box. Eventually, he regained his composure and pressed the red button on top. Yaki then scrolled through still and moving images of the stampede from earlier, as well as the scenes of a world beyond their own. Talise was astonished. She hopped with excitement and sang in a playful tone.

Beautiful new bonds were being formed from mutual interests in visual effects. Yaki’s heart sang and danced like a bird of paradise in love.

…Then again, there was no prolonged time of peace in the jungle. The lookout from the tree above hollered to warn everyone of an enemy that approached the gathering. The earth shook, but unlike the Mountain Anoas from before, these heavy steps had a villainous agenda. The air soon filled with the smell of rotten flesh, and the bushes in the distance began to fall with each thunderous tread. Something massive was coming towards them.

While every Macaque retreated up to the nearest trees in a panic, courageous Lembeh stood his ground. He had complete faith in the newfound power of the explosive pinecones that the humans had left behind. He felt, in that moment, invincible!

Manadotua and Walai struggled to carry the other man-made mystery artifact. The dark, hard branch that many of the dead humans carried was impossibly heavy. The two boys were made responsible for bringing it back to the birth group for other elders to examine its purpose, but how on earth would they get this thing up the Conifer tree?

The foot stomps stopped by the shrubbery across from the boys. There was a low-frequency growling and hissing. The forked tongue behind the massive shadow protracted and retracted menacingly. Attack, was imminent.

Out of the shadows, a giant dragon’s head emerged with its round snout, gaping mouth full of serrated teeth, and serpent-like tongue flicking grotesquely. The sheer size of the scaled monster completely dwarfed the adolescent Macaques who stayed behind. It would be an easy snack for the Apex predator.

Well, in normal situations, yes…

Lembeh beat on his chest and immediately tossed the new weapon at the predator and squawked challengingly. However, nothing happened. He had forgotten one crucial step to activate the explosive device, but it was too late. The Komodo dragon blitzed towards the confused would-be hero, but was interrupted by Yaki and Talise throwing unripe Salwak palm, while hissing defiantly from the tree above. Yaki also made sure the black box captured this monumental moment. The large lizard cocked its head, admiring their valiant efforts, though futile. It actually enjoyed hunting prey that put up a fight.

Taking the brief moment to fall back, Lembeh decided to throw yet another of his green pinecones at the monster, but this time he noticed the circular twig and yanked on it as hard as he could. The hard, leaf-like lever plopped off from the side. It has got to work this time! He knew it. The fearsome juvenile tossed the man-made device towards the dragon, but it just bounced off its massive back! The lizard swiftly redirected the explosive farther towards the other end of the forest with its whip-like tail.

Thunderous explosion soon followed, though it detonated too far from the massive predator to inflict any damage. If anything, the blast startled and irritated the dragon even more. Now it turned its hungry gaze onto the other two boys, who were still desperately trying to haul the mysteriously long object. They tugged and pulled at its protruding branches from all directions to get leverage.

While Manadotua tried to carry the long end of the branch with his shoulder, Walai yanked on the other end with the vertical branchlet. Panic-stricken, Walai got his finger stuck in a curbed hole with a slanted twig. As he saw the dragon charge towards him and Manadotua, he forced his fingers free, and that was when the man-made branch spat hot fire towards the giant lizard, zipping through the scaled body like a swarm of angry Hornets. The sound it made was ear-splitting.

After the smoke cleared, the once-feared predator ceased to breathe. All five younglings roared in unison at a tremendous victory! Yaki made certain to take as many still moments of the battle that was won.

Many moons must have passed since that defining day. One morning, before the fog cleared, there was a roaring sound like a cyclone coming closer to the jungles of Sulawesi. The giant humans were back, with their giant green dragonfly.

They propelled down from it on their vines and trespassed through our forest floors.

They all carried the very same thundering fire branch that Manadotua and Walai harnessed.

They were looking for something.

Around where the fierce battle took place, the giant green intruders kept picking up the shiny, empty bean pods that were dispensed from the thunder branch. They also found the circular twig from the explosive pinecone.

Then, near the remains of the Komodo dragon, the giants found Yaki’s dream-capturing black box. After inspecting its function, the humans realized that the device had run out of battery. Luck would have it that the Kopassus airborne search-and-rescue unit came prepared: The soldier plopped in a new Lithium-ion battery and turned on the GoPro.

There, in the middle of Sulawesi’s Halmahera rainforest, the Indonesian soldier witnessed countless photos and videos taken by what appeared to be a ragtag group of young monkeys.

It was practically a storybook of their adventure.

The battle-hardened soldier couldn’t help but chuckle when he viewed a selfie of the five young Macaques behind it all. It was impressive that the primates figured out how to utilize modern technology this way.

He needed only the SD card containing the recording of his fallen comrade. The soldier decided to leave the camera along with three fully charged batteries in the mil-spec waterproof pouch.

He hoped that maybe the Macaques would take more photos and videos with it. It was the soldier's gesture of gratitude for the resident primates, who kept the camera's data safe.

Just as abruptly as they arrived, the humans lifted away onto their loudly humming dragonfly and disappeared over the island. Once the coast was clear, the Celebes crested Macaques returned to survey their legendary battleground.

Yaki, who has become a full-sized male, led the tribe. He beelined for his black box and pressed on the faded red button on top of the device.

At long last! The camera came back to life once again, and the leader returned to his youth, excitedly taking still moments of his captains- Manadotua, Walai, and Lembeh.

He then shifted his focus towards the love of his life and mother to his children, Talise.

Yaki, the tribal alpha, gently pressed the red shutter on his dream-capturing black box.

Now, a new story will begin to be recorded...