The sound was faint at first, a fragile, reedy wail that seemed to get swallowed by the immense silence of the jungle dusk. But to Yasmine, an old woman collecting herbs at the forest’s edge, it was as clear as a bell. It was the sound of a life in distress. Following the desperate cries, her aged eyes found the source: a tiny, newborn monkey, abandoned on a bed of cold leaves. Its body trembled violently, its eyes were sealed shut, and its mouth was wide open, emitting a continuous, piercing cry of hunger and terror.
Yasmine’s heart, weathered by decades of life’s hardships, cracked open. “Oh, you poor, poor little soul,” she whispered, her voice as soft as the gathering shadows. She knew the harsh law of the jungle; this infant had been left to die. Without a second thought, she acted. With hands gnarled by age but gentle with a lifetime of care, she scooped the shivering creature up. She unbuttoned her woolen shawl and tucked the newborn inside, against the warmth of her own chest. The sudden warmth and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat caused the loud, frantic cries to stutter, then soften into confused, hiccupping whimpers.
Back in her simple hut, Yasmine became a flurry of compassionate activity. She warmed a small bowl of milk and, using a clean cloth, patiently dripped it into the baby’s mouth. At first, the monkey was too weak, but soon, instinct took over, and it suckled greedily. Yasmine fashioned a nest from a basket and soft rags, placing it near the hearth for warmth. All night, she tended to the infant, feeding it every few hours, cleaning its fur, and humming an old lullaby.
By morning, the desperate cries were gone. In their place was the soft, contented sound of a sleeping baby, its belly full, its body warm, its tiny hands clutching the edge of the shawl that had become its sanctuary. The abandoned newborn, whose cries had echoed with the certainty of death, had been granted a miracle. It had been found not by a mighty warrior or a powerful shaman, but by the boundless kindness of an old woman, whose simple act of love had rewritten its destiny.
