Cookies & Calamity

When I close my eyes and picture that day, the first thing that comes to mind is the heat. It was the kind of sticky, heavy heat that hung over Mombasa, a small beach town on the Kenyan coast. The sun had retreated behind a thin cloud, but the humid air chased my best friend and I onto the balcony. Both of us were used to the milder climate of Nairobi, and if it were not for the sprawling beach here, we would be begging our parents to go back home.

We sat on the brick-tiled floor, enjoying the cool breeze that floated from the nearby sea, carrying the faint smell of salt with it. We turned our heads as the door opened, and my little sister emerged, holding three lemon cookies. Her grin revealed her missing teeth, and she handed us our treats, counting out, “One…two…” as she did so. I shooed her away, and she stuck her tongue out at me. The sun peeked out from behind its hiding spot, stretching across the sky, unfolding over and over until sweat dripped off my forehead. I looked over at my sister, about to ask if she wanted to go back inside.

She sat in the protective shadow of a palm tree, devouring her cookie and humming to herself. A movement in the tree caught my eye, and I stared, mouth agape, as a grey shape dropped onto the balcony wall. A full-grown vervet monkey with hungrily watchful eyes sat next to my sister. It extended its little black paws towards the cookie. She frowned and tried to shovel the whole thing into her small mouth. The monkey climbed closer, and her eyes widened in shock. It reached out and snatched the cookie.

My sister seemed frozen. A strange look took root in her face- whether anger, confusion, annoyance, or the inexplicable protectiveness toddlers feel over their food, I cannot say for sure. With a determined expression, she grabbed the cookie right back. I’ve never seen an animal look shocked before, but this one definitely was. I snapped out of my shock, and took a loud step towards the monkey, trying to scare it off. It looked up at me, then grabbed the cookie once more, and scurried back up the tree.

My sister’s eyes welled up with tears and she began pointing at the tree, mourning her lost lemon cookie. I looked up at the canopy arching over the balcony. Somewhere in there, between the branches and wide palm leaves, I could have sworn I saw two beady black eyes staring back at me.