Raka, Noah, and the human woman, May, stopped to rest and catch their breath at the top of a hill.
The orangutan glanced at the human woman then stared off into the distance, his mind a whirl. Everything that occurred with May changed everything he thought he knew or believed. And, since this human could speak, and speak well, what else was true? Could the fantastic story about his own heritage that his grandmother, Karin, told him also be true?
Could his distant several times great grandmother really be a human being?
The names Maurice and Karin had been cycled through various generations of the family for many generations now, but it was not until just before his grandmother's death that Raka was told, supposedly, the rest of the story.
"At first, I could not believe it either," his grandmother said as she lay, weak and withered from a hard but mostly enjoyable life, on her death bed and clung weakly to his hand. "And I am sorry I Have no proof to show you. I buried the proof deep in the ground of my old home before we had to leave it."
The old she-ape began to cough weakly, but she seized her grandson's arm and pulled him close. "You know where my old home is, Raka," she gasped despite his efforts to sooth and quiet her. "You have seen the pictures I drew. Should you ever go that way … Go … Look for yourself. It is beneath the huge boulder with a K and an M inscribed on it."
"You and I …" His Grandmother was struggling for every breath now. "We are here … Your mother is here because an orangutan and a human broke all customs and fell in love. And she, Karin the first, was a good human, a good female, Raka. Beloved by Maurice and trusted by many other apes, besides. Do not let their story be lost forever … Promise me, grandchild …."
Of course, he promised her. She would not relax until he did, but even then, he thought it was a death delirium. But the idea stayed in the back of his mind his entire life, the idea of a human and an orangutan coming together willingly in such a way. He even had dreams about them sometimes, He even thought that he saw them on his wedding day, which was believed to be the greatest blessing for a newly wedded couple, but still, he did not truly believe the story.
And what proof could his grandmother possibly have hidden?
Well, they were heading in the right general direction. Rescuing the clan came first, of course, but if circumstances allowed, Raka might do a bit of investigating and try to find this proof that his grandmother spent her last breath to explain to him.
His personal quest would have to wait for another time. With an almost visible effort, Raka forced his mind away from old family curiosities and back to the here and now.
A/N:
The upcoming movie, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, may completely wreck this little piece or hardly touch it at all. Either way, I wanted to put this out there for all of us who already love Raka almost as much as Noah.