It was a single, misjudged leap. Moka, a young monkey full of playful curiosity, was chasing her cousin through the tangled canopy that bordered a human settlement. Her world was branches and vines, but in a flash, it became a nightmare of wire and searing pain. Her small, grasping hand missed the familiar bark and closed instead around a bare, frayed power line.
A jolt of pure, violent energy exploded through her tiny body. It was a force unlike anything she had ever known—a blinding, buzzing agony that locked her muscles and screamed through every nerve. Her grip was torn open, and she was thrown violently through the air, tumbling down to crash onto the hard, packed earth below.
Smoke curled from her singed fur. The smell was acrid, foreign. For a long moment, Moka lay completely still, her mind a void of shock. Then, feeling returned as a wave of throbbing, unbearable pain. A high, thin whimper escaped her lips, growing quickly into a frantic, choking cry. It was the universal sound of a child in terrible distress.
Her instincts screamed one word: Mom. She had to find her. Using her one good arm, she tried to push herself up. Her legs, numb and uncooperative, buckled beneath her. She collapsed back into the dirt, crying out in fresh frustration and fear. But the image of her mother’s face, the safety of her embrace, drove her on. She began to drag herself forward, her injured legs trailing, her cries becoming a continuous, desperate siren call.
Each movement was a fresh agony. The world was a vast, terrifying expanse of ground, every pebble and twig a monumental obstacle. Her vision blurred with tears and pain, but she focused on the distant trees, on the hope of home. Her sobs were breathless now, punctuated by grunts of effort.
Then, through the haze of her suffering, she heard an answering call—a sharp, piercing shriek of maternal alarm. Her mother, having heard the unmistakable sound of her baby’s terror, came crashing through the undergrowth. In an instant, Moka was swept up into strong, familiar arms, held tightly against a warm, comforting chest. Her desperate cries softened into exhausted, relieved whimpers. The journey was over. She had been found.
