The Gift

Glistening golden hair flowing in the wind. A tail wrapped around the tree branch, holding the monkey looking man upside down. Obvious signs of the tree branch being stressed, readying itself to snap… a loud crash echoes throughout the forest.

"Ow!" exclaimed the weird beast. Flashing his fangs as he cursed the tree for not holding his weight. He decided to lay there a while, since getting up wouldn't change the fact he had nowhere to go. He set out to travel to see more of the world, leaving behind the monkey tribe and his mother… as it started getting boring. He spent his whole life there up til now, unable to bear the mundane existence any longer.

He told his mother he was heading out to find an adventure. No matter what happens, he thought it couldn't be any worse than the boring life he's currently living. After a few days of tears and resistance to his wishes, his mother reluctantly accepted under two conditions.

"Now listen to me Key, as you know… you're a bit special."

The golden haired monkey glared intensely at his mother as he despised her talking about how different he was from the rest of them. His body was that of a man, with his outline surrounded by beautiful golden hair that grew longer the more intense his emotions grew. He was handsome in a rugged kind of way, after all his body could never really decide between his human and monkey side.

"Don't look at me like that", she said as she brought her hand to his cheek. He sighed and lowered his head for a moment before raising his eyes to meet his mothers gaze. In her eyes was a glint of profound intent, a proudness that you couldn't find anywhere else. This truly was a mother's love.

"First things first, I have something for you.", she stood up and headed to her room to find something. Shortly she returned with a box the size of a fist. It was a simple box, with an even simpler design. Light brown with a smooth finish. As she handed Key the box she made sure she had his attention as she stated, "This was left by your father. He never told me what it was, nor what it would do… only to give it to you once I feel it's time."

Key stared curiously at the box, his mind filled with possibilities of what could be inside. Rushing to grab it from his mother's delicate hands, he was about to grab it when she quickly pulled it back. Impatience wouldn't change what's inside. She had to make sure he was ready for this, because she herself was unsure of what was inside. It seemed like it could change everything so she made sure not to be too hasty.

She posed Key a question, "What do you hope is inside?" as she held the box in front of him.

Key pondered for a moment as he brought his hand up to his chin… genuinely curious about what incredible thing could be hiding in such a small box. After some time had passed, he told his mother, "Surely it's something I can eat."

She shook her head as her gluttonous son's mind was hoping for food, of all the things that could be left behind by his father… a man he'd never met. She then extended her hands out to her son with a gentle smile on her face as she herself was a bit curious to what the box held.

Key quickly snagged it from his mother's hands this time, not allowing her any chance to pull it away from his grasp again. Too impatient to wait any longer, as he absolutely needed to know what was inside the box.

His mother later returned from the market with a bunch of fresh fruits and could only laugh as she walked in to the sight of her son deciding whether or not he should eat the exotic looking fruit. It looked like a peach almost, but it had a mysterious air about it.

Key was quite the reckless one, always jumping head first into most things but he was a bit cautious about how such a thing could be in seemingly perfect condition after so many years. A peach that was still good on the outside. He yelled out to his mother who was in the kitchen getting dinner ready, "Should I eat it?".

She thought for a moment then responded, "Bring it in here and we can talk about it while we eat". He quickly put the peach back in the box and rushed to the table in another room with drool visibly dripping from his mouth. He was starving. His stomach was a near bottomless pit that stored as much as he wanted to, at least that's what it felt like.

Key asked politely what was for dinner and she turned around with a huge grin on her face, proudly showing him a bunch of bananas. At least thirty by what he could count. As if his jaw had dropped to the floor, she could only giggle at her son being so amusing. It wasn't normal for them to have so many fruits to eat. Their usual diet mainly consisting of leaves, seeds and flowers.

The table was set and in front of Key was more bananas than he'd ever been able to eat at once. His mother really had gone all out since she knew this was akin to a goodbye, at least for the time being. She watched him devour the bananas, sometimes forgetting to peel the skin back before shoveling it into his mouth.

She gently peeled a banana back and decided to nibble on it as she was cherishing one of the last few precious moments she'd have with her son for who knows how long. Time passed quickly and Key curiously thought that he felt full for a moment, but it passed and he grew hungry again. His eyes were drawn to the simple box… consuming his thoughts.

Cleaning up the mess Key made with dinner, his mother chimed in bringing him back to reality, "I think you should take a bite. You can always spit it out if you don't like it".

Key saw absolutely nothing wrong with what his mother just said. Her logic was sound enough to convince him. He quickly slid open the box and grabbed the peach, bringing it close to his mouth… a deep inhale through the nose told him nothing, it smelt like a normal peach. His hopes of something amazing quickly dropped.

After all, if it was just a normal fruit, there was no reason to waste any more time waiting. He opened his mouth baring his beastly fangs, sinking his teeth deep into the mysterious peach. Little did he know that his entire world was about to be turned upside down.

A warm, blood red liquid gushed out of the fruit quickly overflowing his mouth as he hurriedly gulped it down. The taste was peculiar, nothing at all like a peach. It was definitely sweet but he couldn't shake the slightly metal aftertaste. It was unlike anything he'd ever tasted before.

In the same moment he bit into the peach, his mother caught a weird sense of danger. The hairs on her body stood up as she watched her son eat the only thing left by his father. She tried to figure out where the danger was coming from as she looked around rushedly. The feeling was strongest when she looked in the direction of her son.

She grabbed the broom handle tighter that she'd been using to clean up as she watched silently and waited for her son to finish whatever was happening.

The peach quickly disappeared and Key quickly understood what it was he just did… he drank blood. A lot of it. Why was there blood inside a fruit? Why do I finally feel sated? What was my dad thinking, leaving me a bloody fruit?

He turned to his mother, baring his fangs, and she gasped as if she'd suddenly realized something. She saw the bloody color and finally understood just what the love of her life had done. He awoke our son's bloodthirst, his lust for blood.

Key was puzzled as he tried to figure out what was going on with his mother when his senses instantly went haywire… his hearing was amplified as he could hear the heartbeat of his mother standing in front of him. Her breathing. He could hear the other monkeys outside playing, walking around the market, could hear the girls showering at the waterfall and giggling.

He could smell stuff he shouldn't be able to smell and see things he shouldn't be able to see. Like his mothers hairs on her body trembling, and the smell of sweat slowly drenching her body… it was like, she feared him.

He jerked his head away as he asked his mother in a scared voice, "Are you okay mom?".

She was hesitant in her answer but she quickly regained control of herself and responded, "I'm okay…". As she inwardly cursed at herself for actually thinking her son was some kind of a monster.

Key breathed a sigh of relief and dropped to his knees, his body didn't feel like his own anymore. His senses heightened, his muscles brimming with power, his mind filled with questions… none of which would be answered as he lost consciousness, falling to the ground.

His mother rushed to his side and she flipped him over, checking his body to make sure he was okay. It wasn't the first time she'd ever taken care of a vampire after all.

In her heart she wondered whether this was the kind of life her son truly deserved to live. Realizing that whatever she felt didn't matter anymore, she picked her son up and brought him to his bed. Letting him sleep it off.