Six Segments Of A Peach

Chapter 3 // The Night And The Day

"Brother, you never tell me about the painting."

"Huh?"

"You ignore it. You ignore it as if it doesn’t exist. But it’s huge!" Macaque spreads his arms so widely he almost loses his balance. "It’s so big. And look! Plants never reach it." Black finger points out at the thick moss surrounding the picture like a huge natural green frame. "Is it magical? Is it cursed? Does it kill me if I touch it?"

"I don’t know, I’ve never tried." Wukong smiles, sitting down crossing legs. He grabs his ankles and titles himself back, balancing carelessly on his bottom. "Heyyy, maybe if you wanna test it out by yourself and then tell me if it kills you?"

"Nope, Nah-ah-ah, I’m not gonna fall into one of your pranks, brother." Macaque stands on two legs before the King and proudly flexes his chest. "I’m not that dumb little brat anymore! And beside that, I’ve already touched it multiple times."

"And what? Any side effects?" Wukong titles his head asides, the wide smile doesn't leave his amused face. "Did it kill you? You got new superpowers?"

"No, I’m still alive." The kid turns around to the painting and blinks at it suspiciously. "But I felt something…"

"Wha… What did you feel?" Monkey’s body freezes in a sudden hit of seriousness. But the only answer he gets is a sound of arousing giggles coming from the black little mouth.

"Got you there, brother!" Macaque holds his tummy, laughing and pointing at Monkey King’s face. With one supple jump he climbs on his own tail, sitting on it as if he hangs on in the air. A trick that Wukong didn’t even teach him. He just did it a few times in front of the kid and then busted him practicing sitting on his tail on his own. It’s nice to see him finally make it with confidence. Although it tempts Wukong to push him slightly and see if the kid loses his balance and falls with little squeak. Nah, he won’t do that…. For now.

"You know that this cape is still too big for ya, bud." He smirks at the kid, cutting off his laughter.

"It’s not!" Macaque covers himself in his favorite piece of red fabric, making himself look like a pile of red clothes with a little black head of a monkey on the top of it. "It’s perfect. And you are changing the topic! What’s the secret about the painting!" He gets his little snot close to Wukong’s face. "Speak!"

"Okay, okayyy." Wukong puts his hand on Macaque’s face and pushes him away, which obviously makes the kid lose his balance. Black paws desperately grab the yellow furr, but it doesn’t save him from falling down on his butt. Macaque squeaks, Wukong laughs, the painting watches them in silence. The echo resonates with King’s chuckle, so he doesn’t really notice a quiet growl thrown at him. When he looks down, it’s already too late- the little black snot is twisted in a sulk and sparkling eyes are filled with water.

"Heyy, buddy" Wukong chuckles one last time, tilting down to the small one. "There is no reason to cry. I was just teasing, come on, get up!"

Macaque avoids his sight, turning his head around. He covers himself in his cape and his silhouette begins to blur. A round shadow appears underneath him and his body starts to blend in. Wukong rolls his eyes.

"Oh come on, don’t fret!" The King throws his arms in his air. "Why are you so sensitive sometimes?"

The tears in Macaque’s eyes shine even brighter with these words. His facial expression is not visible anymore.

"You never take me seriously…" The kid speaks quietly as his silhouette starts melting. The shadow on the ground begins to eat his little body to teleport it somewhere far, somewhere dark, somewhere lonely…