A Beast's Freedom

Chapter Two - Glass Wall

The next time she opened her eyes, a clean, cozy room had greeted her. The walls were white, with one of the sides made completely out of glass. Curious, Kuturoka unwound the thick navy blue blanket that had been wrapped around her and cautiously made her way to the transparent wall. On the other side, there were more of her kind, none of which she recognized so far. The younger ones were frolicking, some of the older ones watching them or sleeping. The area was surrounded by great towering stone walls, cold and imposing.

Small shapes peered over the barriers, but Kuturoka could not see them from her point of view.

What seemed to be wooden structures with leaves dotted the grass, but Kuturoka thought that something was off about them. They were too perfect, too symmetrical. Did some trees really grow like that?

The gorilla snapped out of her thoughts, and immediately started searching for her parents, eyeing each one of the gorillas. However, none of them were her mother or father. Disappointed, she slunk to the other corner of the room, watching the strange contraption that was located opposite of the glass wall. It seemed to be a tall slab of perfectly smooth wood, and a piece of metal in the shape of a sphere was protruding out the side of it.

Suddenly, the orb of metal spun, yet it did not change its position, and the wood swung open. A beast walked in, one wearing multicolored cloths, with long hair on just the top of its head, the rest of it bald, even its legs and arms. What surprised Kuturoka even further was that the creature were walking on two legs!

"Hello, little one," it cooed, stepping towards her, its voice laced with kindness, yet foreboding and unfamiliar. The gorilla quickly shied away, burying herself in the blanket again.

"Aw, you haven't seen humans before either," the creature said, seemingly disappointed.

Kuturoka blinked, confused. She had heard many words before, but never of hoo-mans. Was that what these animals were? The young gorilla attempted to rake through her memories, trying to recall if her parents had told them about this species before.

"Don't worry," it continued, interrupting her thoughts. "You'll be able to join the others in a jiffy, as soon as I make sure you're all good to go," the hoo-man said cheerfully, gesturing to the glass wall.

It took another step towards the gorilla, but the ape shrieked and quickly scrambled away, backing into the see-through wall behind her.

"No, stop, I'm trying to help!" the hoo-man yelled, grabbing Kuturoka by the torso with its rubbery hands. "Somebody get in here, she won't stay still!" it called out as the gorilla continued to thrash around.

Once again, she felt something sharp hit her and lodge into her shoulder. Kuturoka heard someone say, "Just like the others," then she immediately faded into darkness.

When she woke up, she was in the enclosure she had seen earlier through the transparent wall. It was much bigger up close, but the animals in it, her kin, still seemed to be very far away.

The ape suddenly felt anxious and nervous. Surely she would never get to see her parents again now! And would the others even accept her? She didn't study them much while in the other room, and did not know of their nature. What if they had different traditions, and if she did not preform them at first, she would be transported once more?

A kind, soft voice had interrupted her worrying. One different from the hoo-man's she had heard earlier.

"Are you all right, child? There's no need to fret here. How did you get here?"

Kuturoka looked up into a gentle face of a gorilla, one that had seen and learned many things. The ape was a she, and she looked to be rather on the old side, although her eyes did not show it. Once you looked into them, the worn creases on her face seemed to melt away. They were blazing with a powerful fire that Kuturoka would remember for the rest of her life.