Three

After crash-landing in the desert,
a face-eating monkey
befriends a young runaway with a secret...

Times were hard, and the face-eating monkey, Rozbard, had no idea what he should do with himself. Should he call for help? No, he was hiding from the law... Should he look for food? No, there weren’t any faces around... What should a face-eating monkey do in a time of need? If only he had some assistance...
As if out of nowhere, an unruly young girl appeared. “Yes,” Rozbard thought, “finally something happens!” He had not a clue what to do next (as this was the trouble with monkeys, they were always very indecisive)... Well, he could always eat her face... “No, that’s not a good idea...” He was awfully hungry, but that could wait... right now he needed to find a way out of the desert.
“You young girl, come here.” He said with an odd grin on his face. “I could use your help with something...”
“Sorry, but you are a monkey,” the girl replied, “I am familiar with your kind, and would very much like to keep my face.” She turned away indignantly, and was about to leave when Rozbard let out a dramatic sob.
“I have nowhere to go, and nothing to eat. My life is in shambles, and I don’t even know why. I am just a poor clueless monkey!” The tears were rolling down his cheek, “If you won’t let me have a taste of your face, could you show me that way out?
“Showing you the way out would not only require compassion, which I lack, but it also means that we would have to leave.” She laughed at his pathetic demeanor. “We are not leaving.”
“Why not?” Rozbard brought himself to ask. “I would love to have a nice hot meal, and you are the only face in sight. And since you don’t associate with monkeys... I will starve!”
“Yes I suppose you will... Now if you will excuse me, I will be on my way...”
“Why do you hate monkeys so?” Rozbard felt he must ask her this...
“That, foul scum, is a secret.”