Arn

It was quiet in the village marketplace today, not much business. Instead of selling their wares the merchants were chatting and gossiping amongst themselves. Arn did not like to partake in such activities, she and her son, Kraik, kept to themselves. Since it was a slow day she decided to take down their booth, disassembling the tent that provided much needed shelter from the brutal rays of the sun. Well, the skies were cloudy now but it was still warm and muggy. She and Kraik put away the animal furs and leather goods she made, such as belts, vests, sandals, bags, saddles, etc. She also made musical instruments such as maracas and flutes. She played a flute briefly before stocking it away in a wooden crate. The crates they loaded into the back of a wooden wagon.

Arn was a thick, muscular woman with long, curly blonde hair, standing 5'11" in height. Her skin was a suntanned brown, from being outdoors a lot, and she wore nothing except a pair of leather sandals whose laces strapped up her calves. Those calves and thighs of her were huge and muscular. Her butt was big and curvy, her breasts large with their big nipples, her arms brawny. She had a reputation in the village as a strong, independent woman, one not to be messed with, who spoke her mind, and who often helped and protected those that were vulnerable.

Strangely, her son, Kraik, did not possess his mother's physical qualities. He was a short, skinny nude teenage kid, but did have blonde hair and a tanned complexion as well.

After the wagon was fully loaded, a young white haired ape, a classmate of Kraik's, approached them. Oddly enough, every time Arn saw him the more his physical features seemed more human: he was starting to have less and less hair, his large gorilla forehead was become less pronounced, his wide, flaring nostrils flattening, his distended jaw as well as massive, bulky body was shrinking down to human size it seemed. His white hair was growing thinner and getting darker. Even though he was a youngster he had one of the biggest dicks in the village, and that penis was getting more pinkish color in pigmentation, like that of a healthy human male. The transformation was eerie.

"Going so soon?" the young ape asked, smiling.

"Hey, Zed," Arn said, returning a friendly grin. "Yep, afraid so. It's dead today." She noticed that he'd been looking at her more, making more eye contact, and it made her uncomfortable. She considered Zed like a son. He and Kraik had gone to the same school since the beginning, played with each other and the other village kids at their farm. She even baby-sat him countless times. So she had reason to be unnerved. She considered sitting down and talking to Zed about this, and to remind him that according to village law it was forbidden that humans and apes be in an intimate relationship. If caught the punishment was severe. Arn rehearsed this little 'pep talk' in her head many times but hadn't followed through yet.

"Hi Zed," Kraik said.

"Hello, brother Kraik," Zed said jocularly, hitting him playfully on the chest. "Hey, wanna throw stones at the river later?"

"Sure."

"Kraik, you have farm chores, today," his mother reminded him firmly.

He frowned. "Oh, mom, please, can't I play with Zed just a little while? We'll only be half an hour at the most and I'll be back on the farm before you know it."

She hated when he did this, his 'haggling, begging' act as she referred to it. She loved him to death and was always thinking about him, and more often than not she played the good mother, good cop and acquiesced to his pleading. "Okay, young man, half an hour only. Am I clear?"

He smiled excitedly. "Yes, mom! Thanks!"

* * *

Arn and Kraik rode the wagon back to their farm first. It was a bumpy ride down a lone, quiet dirt road. Why didn't the village fix the damn potholes? she wondered. They're always raising taxes but they won't make improvements. The lush, green forest was silent around them, not a soul in sight. Arn whipped the horses again and they went faster.

They arrived at the farm minutes later, and Kraik helped her unload the wagon. Then he was off into the woods enthusiastically.

"Remember, half an hour only!" she shouted after him.

He nodded and vanished. Arn shook her head. Kids, she thought. Verdon, her late husband and her only had one child. They felt it was enough. Every time she looked at Kraik she saw Verdon, quietly weeping inside. God, he looked so much like him, had his mannerisms, character flaws and everything. Verdon had been robbed and killed by a young gang of gorillas on the farm. Initially, she was angry at all apes and vowed never to speak to one again. But later, she realized she shouldn't judge all apes, that they weren't all like that. Knowing apes like Zed and his family certainly proved not all apes were bad.

While Kraik played with his friend she tended to farm duties, feeding the livestock and horses, changing some horse shoes, milking the cows, and working in the garden.

After getting fresh, cold water from the well, a group of young white haired apes on horses rumbled onto the farm, shooting her hateful stares.

"You've been warned before, human woman," one of them said. "Your land is the rightful property of the village and is to be returned. Do you understand, human?"

"Get off my land!" Arn said, dropping the bucketful of water. "This is my land, do you understand me?"

When they didn't budge she ran into the stone house with the thatched roof and grabbed her rifle. When she returned they were still there.

"Don't do anything stupid, human woman," the ape said, showing no fear. "If you don't return this land to the village it will be taken from you by force."

"Why?! Who makes that decision?!"

"This has always been ape land, and shall always be. Humans are not welcome here."

Arn pointed the rifle at him. "Get off my farm!"

"We'll be back," he said firmly, and they rode off into the forest.

* * *

At dinnertime, Arn was noticeable quiet and didn't eat much and Kraik observed this, not eating much himself. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She pushed her plate of steaming food away, nodding slowly.

"Then why are you so quiet?"

She remained silent for a few moments. "Nothing. . .just thinking."

"About what?"

"About your father. . .I really miss him." She dried her watery eyes. "I wish he was here."

"Me too. Sometimes I can still feel his presence."

She smiled at him. "Me too." She paused a moment. "Thanks for obeying me, about coming back in half an hour today. You're a good kid."

"I'm not a little kid, mom."

She squeezed his cheek, grinning affectionately. "I know."

* * *

Arn was changing a horse shoe when Zed appeared out of no where, peering into the barn. She looked up, startled.

There was a mischievous smile on his face, again a face that appeared more human each time she saw him. There seemed to be less white hair on it this time, the nose was more straight looking, the nostrils less wide, the lips were slim now, the ears not so big. His long arms no longer dangled down at his sides when he walked now, more and more he walked upright like a man. He didn't have the clumsy, awkward mannerisms of a gorilla, but still had its splayed feet.

"Zed," she said, trying to appear calm and in control. Her bare ass rested on a wooden stool. The horse whinnied softly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he lied. When in fact, he did intend to do that, and also to instill his manhood here, that he was an equal here, equal like a human. He also figured the barn was a nice, quiet place where they could be alone, without Kraik around.

"It's okay." Arn tried not to look at his long, pink penis dangling down between his legs. God, his balls were huge and drooped down!! They looked human! She had a goat in the pen that had big balls like that.

"Say, that's a fine looking stallion you got there," he commented casually.

"Thanks. It won first place at the village fair last year." But she knew deep down he didn't come here to talk about her animals.

He shot her a flirtatious look, looking at her large, tanned breasts, her big nipples, her big pussy that was covered with blondish hairs, and at her giant, muscular thighs and calves.

Arn averted her eyes. "Zed, why are you looking at me that way? You're not supposed to," she warned. "Remember, the law."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, the law. We have to respect the law, no matter what, right? Who cares about it? I certainly don't."

"Don't speak like that, Zed," she said firmly. "You don't want to get in trouble."

"What? Are you gonna report me? I can't believe you would. I'm one of Kraik's best friends, we've been classmates for a long time, played with each other. You babysitted me. You know me and my parents so well."

She stared him straight in the eyes. "That's right, Zed. You're practically family, and that's why I can't believe you're violating the law speaking this blasphemy. . .you're like my own son, I've lost track how many times you've come here for dinner. That's why your sudden change of behavior is scaring me."

"Have you slept with an ape, Arn?" he asked bluntly.

"Stop it! Why are you asking me that?"

"Just answer the question."

"I won't!"

"Have you ever had ape cock before?"

She covered her ears with her hands. "Stop it! Get out of here before I report it to the village council!"

"Rumor has it that you haven't had sex in a while, not since your husband died." His grin was naughty.

Arn got up. "Leave!"

Zed backed away. Suddenly, Kraik ran up to him, smiling. "Hey, Zed. Wanna go play at the river?"

Arn shot him an angry look. "No! Not today, Kraik!"

Zed ignored her. "Sure, c'mon."

"Kraik, you come back here right now!" Arn demanded.

Kraik turned towards her. "Aw, mom, c'mon! We won't be that long. We're just gonna throw stones."

"No, I said not today!"

"Why not? I did all my chores already."

"I need your help doing something else," she lied.

"What? Ain't nothing else that needs to be done."

"Don't question your mother."

There was a conflicted mask on Kraik's face, he looked at Zed and then at his mom.

"C'mon, Kraik, don't be a sissy momma's boy. You're a man, you don't need to listen to your ma anymore." He pulled Kraik to come with him.

Arn pulled her son away from the young ape teen. "You're in trouble, young man! The village council is going to hear about this!"

Zed walked off, looking over his shoulder and giving her that devilish smile.

* * *

"The rumor is that Zed is a hybrid child, borne out of a union between a male ape and a human woman long ago," Bella said. "Those biological parents were caught of their blasphemy and executed, by order of the village council."

"But that's not true," Arn interjected. "Zed's parents are full apes. They're close friends of mine."

"I understand. Like I said, it's just an old rumor that's been circulating around the village. Inquiries were made by some, trying to locate traces of Zed's original parents but no evidence whatsoever could be found. No other relatives, no friends or other villagers knew about this blasphemous couple. . .odd, isn't it?" Bella was Arn's neighbor at the marketplace, her booth right next door.

Arn told her about how Zed appeared more human each time she saw him.

"That supports the hybrid parent theory," Bella remarked, swatting a fly off her bare thigh.

"I don't know," Arn replied. "That's a pretty crazy story."

A customer approached her booth, marveling at the leather belts she had on a rack.

"Those are all on sale," Arn said. "Half off."

The customer then looked at the animal furs and a set of maracas. "You made these?" he asked, shaking the maracas.

She smiled proudly. "Yes."

"Impressive. I buy them," he said, and also purchased a sheepskin fur blanket and a belt.

"Thank you. Come again."

Another customer came but had no credit. "Can we barter?"

"Certainly. What have you got?"

He opened up his bag and brought out a bunch of items. Arn pointed to some tins of canned meat, a sealed first aid kit, and a flashlight. When he left, she kept thinking about the hybrid theory Bella talked about, her brow furrowed.

Later that day, Arn saw Zed and a group of young apes saunter by her booth. He pretended to look at the belt rack, spinning it idly. One of his friends played with another set of maracas and then a flute.

"If you're not going to buy anything don't touch it," she stressed.

They ignored her.

She faced Zed. "I informed the village council."

"Yeah, and thanks to you my parents chewed my ears off for a whole hour!" he retorted. "They forbade me to set foot on your farm again and won't let me play with Kraik anymore."

"You knew the consequences. The council will make a decision shortly."

"I'm gonna get even." He eyed her carefully and walked off with his buddies.

Bella whispered to her, "Watch your back! Those youngsters bullied my kids. I knew they were trouble when I first laid eyes on them."

* * *

One night, about eleven, Arn was in her bedroom playing a flute. Kraik was asleep. His room was far from hers and he couldn't hear it. She sat naked, Indian-style on the queen-sized bed that was covered with a leopard skin blanket. She'd been playing the flute since she was Kraik's age, and occasionally she and him would perform at the open mic at the local village tavern. Bella and others praised her for her magnificent pipes and musical talent. But Arn was modest, always blushing and saying "I'm okay."

It was a warm night and the bedroom curtains and window were open. Her back faced the window, and unbeknownst to her, the local ape goons who had threatened her earlier were watching her. She put the flute to her lips and blew into the hole, creating a nice melody.

When she was done, she heard clapping behind her. She spun around and saw the apes, mouth dropping open.

"Very beautiful," the same gang leader said. "I've seen you at the tavern and must say you're quite talented for a human."

"Get off my land!" Arn snapped.

"No, this is ape land," he corrected. His buddies nodded. "This is your last warning, human woman. "If you don't surrender your farm to us by week's end we'll take it by force."

Arn got off the bed, walking up to the window. "I did some checking and your actions aren't even endorsed by the village council. You're simply acting on behalf of some overzealous, human hating apes. A small, worthless minority. Now get out of here!"

When they didn't move away from the window she grabbed her rifle. Suddenly, the apes shattered the window and climbed through. Arn screamed, aiming the weapon at the leader. She squeezed the trigger and the bullet struck him squarely in the chest and he collapsed to the ground. She fired at a second white haired ape and he dropped dead too. Before she could shoot again an ape snatched the rifle from her. That's when she punched the ape several times, sending him reeling backwards, knocking into a bookshelf. Things smashed to the ground. The last ape she wrestled with, bear hugging him from behind. Because of her Amazonian height, she towered over him and was able to move her hands up to his neck and break it. His dead weight dropped limp against her. The one ape that survived, the one that fell against the bookshelf, got scared and scampered out the window, cutting himself against the shards of glass.

"Don't you ever come back here again!" Arn warned. "You hear me?!"

Kraik poked his head through the door and asked sheepishly, "Are you okay, mom?"

* * *

Arn and Kraik performed at the local tavern's open mic the following Friday evening to a semi-full crowd. Arn played the flute solo for a few numbers, and then switched over to maracas and sang while Kraik played the guitar. She was working up a good sweat too, feeling sweat trickle down her wide, suntanned back and down her huge, muscular thighs. Shaking those maracas, tapping her bare foot on the stage. Audience members applauded and cheered, saying, "All right, Arn!" or "You go, girl!"

Moses, the owner, a heavyset black man, winked at her and gave her a thumbs up from behind the bar. She continued tapping her foot on the next number too, perfecting the shaking of the maracas down to a science. And she was eclectic in their repertoire, playing the harp and for the finale, a wooden synthesizer type contraption with steel pedals. Sitting down behind the synthesizer, she played and belted out a few songs, catching those difficult high notes. The audience hooted and cheered again. "All right, Arn!"

When their set was done Moses handed them each a glass of water. She wiped the sweat from her face and neck, gulping down the glass. As people left the tavern at the end of the night Arn and Kraik started packing up their musical equipment.

"You sounded really great tonight, mom," Kraik praised. "The best I've ever heard, in fact."

She smiled. "Thanks."

Moses nodded, chiming in: "Indeed, now we gotta book you for some more shows. You're selling out the joint! I have some friends in the big city and I'm sure they'd love to have you."

She appeared reluctant. "I don't know, Moses, big cities and big crowds scare me."

"Well, think about it."

She and Kraik loaded their gear onto the wagon. That was when the same ape thugs appeared out of the darkness. One wielded a knife and tried jumping her but she pushed him away. Moses ran them off with a baseball bat. "You okay?"

Arn nodded.

* * *

Arn hadn't seen Zed and his buddies in weeks. She was relieved of that. Maybe they finally got it in their thick skulls that the law didn't play around. It wasn't a game. Still, she was concerned about Zed 'cause he was practically like a son to her, knowing him all these years. Kraik was sad that he couldn't see his friend anymore but visibly upset about the encounter between Zed and his mother. Arn felt she might've been too harsh with the young ape. The village council's punishment was that he was forbidden to ever set foot again on her farm and couldn't even talk to her or Kraik anymore. If he was caught again, he would be banned from the village and his family would be humiliated, outcasts forever.

Arn's curiosity got the best of her and she decided to look into the hybrid theory. One morning, when Kraik was at school, she rode her horse past the village boundary, into the outer territories. The outer territories were also known as Zone 1, an unexplored wasteland that villagers were always afraid of venturing into. It was there in Zone 1 that the rumor Bella mentioned took root. Rumor had it that the ape male and human woman met out there in a cave and copulated. Arn was hoping to dig up anything on the topic, to satisfy her curiosity. Zed didn't know about his true past and part of her felt obliged to tell him, however painful that might be for the boy. Maybe I shouldn't do it, she mused. Another part pushed her on.

The horse took her to the foot of the Shalo Mountains, a steep granite wall that extended way up into the blue heavens. Wearing nothing but her leather sandals and a backpack she made the arduous ascent up the face of the mountain. When she reached the first plateau she discovered a calm, peaceful creek and drank the fresh water there. Not a soul was in sight. When she got to the second peak she saw the entrance of the cave, a large crevice covered by vines and stray vegetation. After hacking away the vines with her machete she went inside, the bright, lone cone of a flashlight her only guide. She heard water trickling inside. The place was damp yet cool. Probing further down a dirt pathway surrounded by stalactites and stalagmites she came across a white sign that read: 'Haight Street' and another that said, 'Ashbury Street.' What the devil did it mean? Moments later she discovered another sign that was sticking out of the cavern's inky black river. This one read: 'Golden Gate Park.' Intrigued, she moved on.