Not A Mere Food Chain ...

The baby monkey seemed perplexed and doomed. His little face, which had been bouncing with life moments ago, had now turned pale and gloomy. The infant was tucked up in his mother's lap, firmly embracing her. There was neither a storm nor was his house demolished, but he knew for sure that his life had turned upside down. He did not even dare to look up, for he did not want to behold the fierce eyes of the beast who injured his mother! The infant was unaware that his mother was dead—even monkeys understand death, but the baby monkey was too young to realize that! He was frightened when he discerned that his mother was not opening her eyes; he did not leave his mother, ardently hoping that she would open her eyes again and smile back at him!

It all happened so abruptly! The infant was running beneath the trees playing with his mother. Neither the mother nor the child noticed the leopard who had sought refuge in the nearby bush. The beast had concealed herself among the thick, green, dense undergrowth of the forest and was keenly awaiting the arrival of the prey. As soon as the infant's mother arrived there, she pounced upon her, killed her, and ripped her apart! The baby monkey helplessly watched his mother lying in a pool of blood! When the beast bit her lifeless throat and picked her up, the infant sensed something was wrong! He rushed to his mother, jumped on her lap, and embraced her lifeless corpse tightly! From that moment on, the baby was with his mother, whose destiny made her a leopard's prey!

The baby monkey felt like crying his heart out; why was his mother not opening her eyes? He could recall the bygone days when his mother would feed him, play with him, bathe him, and take care of him! He did not even realize that his mother had left him forever; she would never come back! He was still hoping that she would smile back at him! As the sunrays fell on the earth, a new day started, and much to the infant's surprise, it marked the end of his happiness! When the leopard pounced upon his mother and ripped her apart, the infant's peace ended! When his mother died after tremendous suffering, the infant lost his support and love! To the baby's unawareness, it was the end of his dependent yet secure life! It was the beginning of a much tougher life for him, without his parents!

Some would claim it to be the mere biological food chain, whereas some would merely sympathize with the baby monkey! Yes, it is indeed pathetic for even an animal to lose its mother! But did the infant ever realize that the leopard who slayed his mother was also a mother? Her cubs had not eaten for some days as she could not hunt for them! It is undeniable that a mother will die herself rather than watch her children die! The leopard's cubs were starving and almost dying; she had no other choice!

This is the harsh irony of this bitter life! A mother killed another baby's mother to feed her own children! These mere words and verses are not enough to weave the tapestry of the real essence of this scenario! Life in the wild is very difficult, and the call of the wild is irresistible! While the infant was sad and ardent to get his mother back, the leopard was happy and ardent to feed her cubs! The baby monkey did not know that his mother was dead, but the leopard mother knew that her cubs wouldn't die anymore from starvation! Life is indeed bittersweet, but a mother's love is ineffaceable...