Elysia

Courtney walked around in a daze for several more hours just absorbing the sights and sounds of the amusement park. Penelope and Red Nose accompanied her but became frustrated when Courtney barely responded to their conversation. Finally, the two of them went off to try more of the rides agreeing to meet Courtney in two hours by the fountain. Despite the distractions of the park, Courtney was preoccupied with her thoughts about Reginald. She was only eleven but she was madly in love with him. His kiss was burned into her memory. She could think of little else. Sadly she didn’t see him. Like a fool she turned away from him, now he was gone. Courtney tried to blame the way she felt on Elysia but every time she woke up in the real world, Courtney felt the same way about Reginald as she did in Elysia. She wasn’t ready to be thinking about boys but she couldn’t stop thinking about Reginald. After walking alone for ten minutes, Courtney heard a loud sobbing sound. Her curiosity raised, Courtney followed the sounds to an area in back of the theme rides. She rounded a corner and saw a huge cage with a thirty foot ape sitting on a large stool. He looked exactly like a gorilla but he had longer legs meant for walking upright and his fur was a uniform brown color. His only clothing was a pair of brown shorts. He had an enormous pair of sneakers stacked in one corner but he wasn’t wearing anything on his feet. His most interesting feature were large dark soulful eyes, now wet with his crying. Next to him was a big table with two large chairs. A large checkers board lay on the table. As tall as many buildings, the ape didn’t look real but fake apes don’t cry. “Hi giant ape, my name is Courtney. You are crying so loud I could hear you in front of the building. Can I help?” The giant ape turned toward Courtney and smiled at the beautiful young girl. While his voice was very powerful it was also nice. “My name is Herbert. I am very sad. I am just too big. Everyone is scared of me. I have no friends. Still, I am really a nice ape. I would never hurt anybody on purpose, but when you are as big as me it is easy to hurt someone by mistake. I could step on someone, knock a building down with somebody inside or nearby, or I could snap off a tree sending it into some unsuspecting person or kid. For this reason, I have to sit here most of the time when I am not working on my ride. It is really hard. Even when I do my best on the ride, most of the kids think I am a fake, some kind of machine. They don’t know how hard I have to work to make my ride exciting. When some kids realize I am real, they become terrified and never take my ride again. I could handle all these problems if I had a girlfriend, but I am the only ape of my kind. There are no females for me. Even the female elephants and dinosaurs are small compared with me. Sometimes I talk to the dinosaurs. People treat them like they treat me. They are afraid of them. Still, the dinosaurs tend to keep to themselves. They don’t like the fact that I am bigger than them. After all, a dinosaur should be bigger than a ape. When Harry the theme park manager persuaded the king and queen to make me, he originally planned to make a male and female. Yet I am so big, the Crystal of Light had to spend a whole day making me. The king and queen became concerned with the loss of the crystal for a day and as a result refused to make my mate.” “I am sorry Herbert. You must be very lonely. I could check in on you every once and a while and perhaps bring some friends to talk to you, If I knew the king and queen, I would try to persuade them to help you. Perhaps I will come to know them and put a good word in for you. One thing is for sure, if I become queen, I will help you. No creature should be in jail when they haven’t done anything wrong and every creature should be allowed to have a girlfriend or boyfriend. It just isn’t fair.” “I don’t know whether you will be able to persuade the king and queen to make me a mate, but I appreciate you wanting to be my friend. If I have a friend, it will help. I already feel a little better. By the way, you are a beautiful girl inside and outside. I just hope my mate is as pretty as you.” “If I have anything to do with it, she will be. By the way, I see that you have a checkers game on a table over there. I used to play with my father. Do you want to have a game?” “Wow that would be great. The pieces are the size of a large truck wheel, but if you have trouble moving them I will help.” Courtney squeezed between the cage bars and stood on the chair on her side of the checkers board. She had to put a box on the seat, so she could look over the board. For the next several hours, Herbert and Courtney played checkers. They laughed and joked with each other, but Courtney had to be careful not to make Herbert laugh too loud. When he did, he blew Courtney on her side. One time Herbert had to catch her before she fell off the chair. Courtney could climb on the table and move one checker piece by pushing it with all her strength, but she couldn’t lift it up and jump over another piece or move it on top of the other piece when she made a king. Herbert helped when this needed to be done. He lifted the pieces like they weighed nothing at all. After the twentieth game, when they were tied at ten wins a piece, Herbert suddenly stood up to his full thirty foot height. In spite of herself, Courtney was a little frightened. Herbert was huge. Herbert addressed Courtney with enthusiasm. “That is the best time I ever had on my break, but I have to go inside and get ready for my next group of kids. Before I do, let’s take a picture together. You stand here next to my left leg and I will stand next to you. I have the camera set up so it can get all of me in the picture but I am afraid you will look very small. “ Courtney walked quickly up to Herbert’s leg and smiled her best smile, while Herbert made some final adjustment in the position of the camera. When they were both in position, Herbert declared. “Ready, look in the camera and smile. One, two three, we are done. While this picture prints, I will give you a stock photo of me shaking the top of a tall tree and roaring. It is my favorite. Well, there is the new picture. We look great together. I am sorry but both pictures are in black and white. This black and white camera is the only one that can get all of me in the picture.” “Wow thanks for the pictures Herbert. You really look great shaking that tree. I am sure that any girl giant ape would nearly faint if she saw this picture. Also, I like the pictures of the two of us together, even though the top of my head doesn’t make it up to your knee,” Courtney said studying the pictures in front of her. “You are welcome. I think we are going to be great friends, but I really have to go. Without me all the kids will have to wait to go on my ride. I want to hug you Courtney but I am too big. Why don’t you crawl in my hand and jump up and down. It will feel like you are shaking my hand.” After Herbert put his huge hand on the table facing up, Courtney jumped up and down on it. After jumping for a while, Courtney crawled out of Herbert’s hand and smiled at him. “Well that was nice. I am going to crawl out of the bars in your cage and look for my friends Penelope and Red Nose the clown. Thank you for the checkers game. You are a great player and a good friend.” “So are you and please don’t forget to come and visit me again when you have a chance,” Herbert said wishing Courtney would stay a little longer. “I will Herbert, I promise I will.” Hebert turned reluctantly away from Courtney and walked back into his theme ride. He already missed Courtney the best friend he had in the whole world.