Tragedy Monkey Story
As Horticus slid down The Avenue, he looked around him. Everything was glowing with such a brilliant pink. He remembered the days when buildings were built in plaster and steel. Now, everything was made with the repulsive salmon-colored material. The government said it represented the dawn of a new generation; Horticus wasn't sure he wanted to be part of it. The Avenue crawled to a stop, gears whirring down to a gentle purr to allow him to step onto the ledge beneath him. As he did so, twelve identical doors faced him. An automated voice greeted him.
"Good Morning, Mr. Hashimoto. Are you here for your annual cambio, or would you prefer another door this morning?"
Horticus paused. He hated the cambio. It was a large machine which analyzed his brain patterns to detect any irregular activity. If the slightest change in personality had occurred within the past year, it would jolt him with 3,000 watts of lectorici, a more powerful yet less damaging type of the archaic energy form called electricity. His appointment was actually next week, but he had a habit of arriving at appointments early. He decided against entering that door, but instead flipped open a panel on the wall displaying the options of the twelve doors. He saw one labeled * New * Kirby's Crustacean Cookout, another Anytime Action and a third, which caught his eye, named Ichabad's Out.
He walked up to the second door on his right. and smushed his face against it. It gave way, and he entered. Within, he discovered a roomful of colorful animals. A brown porpoise splashed him, and a platypus with a striped beak quacked near his heel. His eye, however, was caught by a friendly green monkey chattering at him in a corner of the room. It looked friendly.
His mind was taken back to a tragic day so long ago. He was eleven. He sat caressing his favorite fish, muttering endearments to it quietly while watching the hover-cars zip past him. The fish was lifeless. It had died that morning when his mother had cleaned the tank with bleach.He felt a deep loss in his soul. His mother had tried to persuade him to get up, to eat, or to play but he would not separate himself from his dearly beloved fish.
Horticus snapped back into the current day, staring at the green monkey. Wiping a tear from his eye, he walked up to the agent working within the building. He wanted a companion. He pulled twelve coins from his pocket, and dropped them onto the counter. They clattered, spun around for a few seconds, then clacked to a stop. The other man looked them over, and nodded.
"That's an attractive primate there, eh? We call him Monkey. I made the name up. Original, isn't it?"
"Uh, sure. Look, that's twelve coins. That's more than enough for him."
"Sure is. Go ahead, he's yours."
And that is how Horticus came to find himself strolling down The Avenue looking for a place to stop and eat. He felt complete again, as he hadn't since that tragic day forty-two years ago. He patted its head and scratched under its chin, grinning. He decided to name it Gretchen.
Horticus pampered Gretchen all day, taking her to the zoo where she could visit those of the same species, took her to a pet store to buy a fancy collar. Finally, at the end of the day, Horticus decided to treat Gretchen to a gourmet dinner. He found the building he was looking for – a skyscraper built to house a massive Burger King. Suddenly, though, he felt a relief of weight on his shoulders. With a gasp, he realized he was being abandoned again. He began to cry uncontrollably. He yelled loudly.
"Gretchen, don't go! Please, don't leave me!"
He shook his head and looked up to the heavens, begging God not to let him lose her. But to his dismay, a small furry blob caught his eye as it dove from the top of the eleven-story building, arms outstretched, a blissfully grin spread across her face. He turned away, bowed his head, and trudged home with a vow never to love again as he heard the little body splatter to the ground.
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