In the deep, green shadows of the jungle, the cries of one tiny soul rose above the rustling leaves and birdcalls—high-pitched, sharp, and full of pain. It was little Lucie, a small baby monkey just beginning to understand how harsh the world could be. Her tiny face was soaked with tears, her little body trembling, and her mouth wide open as she screamed and screamed, full of sadness and rage.
Lucie was hungry. Not just a little hungry, but aching, stomach-rumbling, desperate-for-milk hungry. She had been trying all morning to nurse, clinging tightly to her mother, Lala, with shaking hands. But Lala had grown distant in recent days. Whether it was due to stress, troop pressure, or the beginning of forced weaning, she had started to push her baby away—physically and emotionally.
This morning, it was worse than ever. As the troop moved through the trees in search of food, Lala climbed ahead quickly, ignoring Lucie’s cries and leaving her struggling to catch up. When Lucie finally reached her and tried to nurse, Lala snapped and shoved her aside. Lucie tumbled to the ground with a soft thud. She wasn’t injured, but the shock and heartbreak exploded from her chest in a loud, sorrowful scream.
She stood there on the forest floor, crying so loudly it made a few nearby monkeys stop and glance. Lucie screamed not just from hunger but from anger. Her tiny heart couldn’t understand why the one who had always comforted her now acted like a stranger. She stomped her little feet, flailed her arms, and yelled as hard as she could, her whole body shaking with emotion.
Lala sat nearby on a branch, chewing on leaves, pretending not to notice. Every few moments she glanced at Lucie but didn’t return. This was her way of forcing independence. But for Lucie, it felt like betrayal.
Lucie climbed up again, crying and screaming as she reached her mother’s side. She pulled at her fur, desperate for milk, desperate for warmth. But again, Lala pushed her off coldly. The scream that followed was even louder—wild, raw, and filled with disbelief. How could her own mother do this?
As the sun passed overhead, Lucie’s screams began to fade into soft, exhausted sobs. She clung to a branch alone, eyes half-closed, lips still trembling. Her stomach growled, and her heart ached.
She didn’t understand that this was the first painful step toward growing up. All she knew was that she was small, hungry, and her mother—her whole world—was no longer offering the comfort she needed.
It was a truly pitiful and heartbreaking scene: a tiny baby monkey, angry and helpless, crying into the jungle air for a mother who would no longer hold her close. Lucie’s fight had just begun—one of survival, strength, and slowly learning to stand on her own in a world that wasn’t always kind.
