The night was calm, the moonlight spilling softly over the leaves as little Leko curled up on his blanket. His tiny chest rose and fell unevenly, eyes heavy with sleep but filled with sadness. He wasn’t cold — he was lonely.
Earlier that day, Leko had been rescued after losing his mother in the wild. Though safe now, the emptiness in his small heart refused to fade. Each night, when the lights dimmed and the jungle sounds quieted, he would reach out with his little hands — searching for the warmth that wasn’t there.
He made soft, broken sounds, almost like whispers — “Eee… eee…” — calling into the air as if hoping his mother might appear from the shadows and hold him again. He didn’t understand why she wasn’t coming back; he only knew he needed her arms to feel safe.
The caretaker, watching from nearby, felt her heart ache. Slowly, she knelt beside him and wrapped him in a soft cloth, lifting him gently against her chest. Leko stopped crying for a moment. His tiny fingers clung to her shirt, his body trembling as he pressed his face against her heartbeat — steady and warm.
He sighed deeply, his breathing slowing as he finally drifted into sleep, comforted by the faint rhythm that reminded him of his mother.
The caretaker whispered softly, “You’re safe, little one. You’re loved.”
And though Leko didn’t understand the words, he felt the love. In that quiet moment, wrapped in gentle arms, the ache in his tiny heart eased — just enough for him to dream peacefully.
The forest outside whispered a lullaby through the leaves, and under the soft glow of the moon, the lonely baby monkey finally slept — held, comforted, and no longer alone.
