The Zambo Monkey

Terror in the thicket In the secluded village of Los Tres Zapotes, where the jungle thicket swallowed the limits of reality, lived Juanito, a solitary and enigmatic boy, whose silence and melancholy gaze hid a terrifying secret that would soon turn him into a legend, an amalgam of mystery, pain and primitive terror. His silence and melancholy gaze hid a terrifying secret that would soon turn him into a legend, an amalgam of mystery, pain and primitive terror. Juanito preferred solitude to the hustle and bustle of the other children. While they laughed and played in the Bonito River, he withdrew, seeking refuge in the bush. One day, his companions, moved by curiosity and childish cruelty, followed him, stalking him from the undergrowth. What they saw made their blood run cold: Juanito's body was covered with thick dark fur, and a thick tail was swinging behind him. The taunts were not long in coming. "Juanito the Bear," they shouted, as they pulled his tail and touched him with disgust and fear. Humiliation and rage took hold of Juanito. He fled to the safety of his father, heartbroken and with a growing hatred for humanity. "I have the body of a bear and the strength of a bear," he confessed to his father, "and if they bother me, I will end up taking their lives."