Bernard The Winged Monkey

• Kyle Muldoon, Grade 12, North Rockhampton State High School
• Short Story
• 2003

2nd in the 'Animal Kingdom 2003' competition

The scientific community will be in a frenzy. I will have fame and fortune. So much will happen. It is quite a remarkable animal that I have captured. Now it sits idly in the cage placed in the corner of the room. The winged monkey, quite a discovery if I do say so myself. Yes, the world will love Bernard the Winged Monkey and in turn they will love me.

Bernard appears to be quite tame, he’s not afraid of me. I don’t suspect he’s ever seen humans before. His black, leathery wings are tucked in close to his body, there’s not enough room in that cage to unfurl them. Bernard’s arms are busy picking fleas out of his rain-soaked fur, finishing the job by scything them with his piercing incisors, I might add. The rain that Bernard had been soaring through above the rainforest’s healthy green canopy just a short time ago is gently falling outside, creating a soft, soothing, lullaby. Bernard’s eyes are half-closed as the lullaby quietly seeps into his cage, immersing him in a comfort as smooth and uninterrupted as silk. Those eyes of his, there’s something peculiar about them. They’re not here. Of course they’re here, but the mind I can see through those eyes isn’t.

He looks like he’s not here. It’s as though his mind is lost in thought; lost in memories. Ridiculous, he’s just an animal. An extraordinary animal, yes, but an animal all the same. But, those eyes. They’re focused now, staring at the cruel iron bars before him. They’re lost again; lost in memories. I think I know now. He remembers the rainforest. His eyes gaze into a million memories of a million trees. Trees slide past underneath him and trees surround him. Those are his memories. Memories of endless jungle sunsets, clear night skies and refreshing rains as well.

It must be a far cry from that cage. He’ll probably be prodded and experimented on for the rest of his life. When the world discovers Bernard’s existence, more people will come to this jungle. First the scientists, then the tourists and then, finally, the developers. The others like Bernard will be forever destroyed, perhaps not physically if they’re lucky, but they will certainly be poisoned by the corrupt hands of mankind. Poisoned by my hands, and for what? So I can have money and fame? I can’t exchange an entire species for such hollow pursuits. I can’t be responsible for tainting this piece of Earth untouched by the foolishness of humanity. I have to stop this before it starts.

There, the cage is unlocked. Bernard is tentatively stepping out of the cage. His powerful wings are stirring, sending the air gusting around the room. With a mighty flap of his wings, Bernard begins to take flight. He is soaring out the window and into freedom. Thank you Bernard, you let me see the truth.