Abraham

The cry pulled me out of my bed at 5:30 on my first morning in Central America. The haunted and forceful sound made me hide behind the pillars of the house as I searched the trees to identify the source.

The large black bear like object sat still upon the delicate limb of the canopy tree. The sun rising behind it illuminated the hairs on its back revealing brown tips to the 4 inch length of lustrous coat. It had taken just 10 minutes to locate; I was breathless with excitement and gratitude. When it looked my way it gave a large yawn revealing two rows of canine teeth. It's apelike face was bejewelled with onyx eyes the size of golf balls. When it lept to stretch out on the limb and walk, I was convinced that it was a different animal: the body then thick and still, now lythe and supported by a massive prehensile tail. "The missing link! A new world monkey" I squealed at my sleeping friends, rousing them from their beds to behold this thrilling discovery. We called him Abraham. He returned later in the afternoon to our calls that we perfected over the course of the day. Joining him were 5 other adults and a charming infant monkey, who came to the nearest tree to us and lept and climbed over our heads sending out the now familiar call. The call would reverberate from tree top to tree top across the valley down to the Pacific Ocean. The sensation was primal.