3 Chapter 3

The trees of the forest had always been hulking to the young creature that was currently roaming the forest floors at the moment. It looked like a miniature gorilla with black hair that possessed dark green stripes. And the only thing that really separated it from the rest of small miniature looking gorilla like creature (apart from its slightly larger head, and higher brain function) was the stone that lay embedded in its chest. Cracks that glowed red extended from the point where the stone lay across the creature's chest.

The trees of the forest had always seemed so hulking and large to this young gorilla looking creature with a stone embedded in its chest, but today-for some unknown reason-they didn't seem as big as they had yesterday.

Maybe it was because it had received a name. A name he personally loved, a fact that he did not want the person who named him to know. Because while it may seem to the person like they had only known themselves for a few moments, for him those few moments where all his life.

His stomach grumbled and he walked towards a random tree and placed his ear to it and listened. He could hear the scurrying of the legs of the tiny black shelled creatures that normally lived underneath the skin of the trees.

He smiled and placed his hands on certain places on the tree's bark and then pulled. The bark stripped off without any trouble leaving the young gorilla creature holding a piece of wood with a lot of black millipede like creatures crawling on it.

It smiled, or at least he tried to, and then grabbed a handful of the insects and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed quickly and swallowed the bugs. He looked at the bark in hopes of finding more but he couldn't. The ones he hadn't eaten had probably fallen off while the ones that had been exposed after he pulled of the bark had scurried off in other directions, most likely to avoid being eaten. The gorilla like creature did something similar to sighing before he turned and continued his journey.

Slowly his adventures brought him across another creature that looked like him. It was also a gorilla looking creature with green stripes. It held in its hand a basket and it was currently in the process of pulling things from the bush in front of it. It pulled bugs, berries and fruits of other kinds. The tiny gorilla-like creature sat down nearby and watched the bigger gorilla creature carry out its work.

It didn't take long for the bigger creature to notice its presence, and at first it didn't seem to mind. \\"Why aren't you with the other yemephusi?"\\ The creature grunted in its language, but the small yemephusi didn't seem to understand. He nodded his head and continued to watch the bigger creature work.

\\"You know,"\\ it began, walking away from the bush to catch a better glimpse of the yemephusi, \\"It is not right to disregard the instruction of yemeru. Especially one that is older than-"\\ Its words were cut short when it sighted the full image of the creature before him.

\\"Oh,"\\ it growled once more, \\"Its you."\\ The contempt apparent to itself in its voice, the young yemephusi on the other hand was oblivious to it. \\"Get out of here,"\\ it roared, causing the young yemephusi to scurry and then more to herself than to anyone else she finished, \\"Before I do something you'll regret."\\

The trees of the forest didn't seem as big as they did yesterday, and for some reason neither did the threats.

He couldn't understand what the older yemeru said, how could he when he was abandoned before he could walk, but he knew enough to know that had he stayed there much longer he would have been harmed, he knew through experience. But for some reason the threat of being harmed didn't seem as bad as it used to.

He walked through the forest for a while before he sighted something else a group of young ones playing. He stopped in his tracks and began to climb a nearby tree. Three branches up, he decided to continue to make his way towards the group. He grasped the branches of another tree and pulled himself onto the next tree. He made his way towards a tree that was close to the young ones before he settled on the branch above them and listened.

\\"-Do that!"\\ A voice of one of the smaller ones cried out, but of course the yemephusi that sat in the branch above couldn't understand what they were saying. There were four of them, two that were about his size, one that was slightly taller and another that was the height of the yemeru he had seen before.

\\"And why can't I?"\\ the slightly bigger one said.

\\"Because it's unfair,"\ the other small one answered which made the first small one to make a grunt.

\\"Stop it!"\\ the biggest one ordered, its voice carrying a certain power.

The slightly bigger one made a nasty face. \\"You always side with them Phio,"\\ it cried, \\"You're no fun!"\\

The yemephusi opened its mouth and tried to repeat the last word it heard. \\"F-Fun."\\

The young children stopped playing and looked up to see the young yemephusi sitting on the branch above them, with the stone lodged in its chest. They all made an ugly face before they then proceeded to shoo him away with loud words and stones. Some of the stones cut his skin, others bruised him, but they all made him go away.

But he didn't come down, instead he decided to run upwards. He climbed higher up the tree until the children's stones couldn't reach him anymore. Then he sat down on a branch and watched them. Once the children realised that their stones couldn't reach him, they turned and walked off.

The young yemephusi wished to go down but he didn't, the dwindling sunlight told him otherwise. SO instead he chose to lie on the branch and rest there for the night. And as he lay on the branch with the dwindling sunlight, he sang a little out of tune, unrhyming song to himself in a language he didn't even realise he knew how to speak.

"The tall trees seem tall no more

And I know why.

I'm not as scared when they shoo me away

And I know why

It doesn't hurt as much when they throw their stones

Or when they refuse to teach me what the speak

And I know why.

It's because yesterday I received a name

And that means I'm stronger

It's because I received a name I love

And that name is Jean

And because of it I can go on"

He sang the song multiple times before he finally fell asleep, leaving the world behind.