LMK || The Clay-Made Monkey
ATTENTION!!! THIS HAS SPOILER FOR SEASON FOR OF LMK, SPECIFICALLY THE IMAGES THAT ARE ADDED HERE!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
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* After many months, Sun Wukong finally found it. He had searched many times all around Flower Fruit Mountain, turning over every rock to find more rocks. Searched the caves hidden deep inside the mountain and the cold beaches that he refused to go near until now. He finally found it. The one.
The perfect rock.
The rock perfectly fit both hands, wrapping it around as a whole. He held it close to his chest and cuddled it, happy he had finally found it! This was it! This would be the one for him to use.
The perfect rock to make his son.
So many years, decades, centuries, of him being alone. He may have his small army of monkeys and a throne in the waterfall cave, but he was lonely. Lui Er would only visit so rarely as he traveled with the wind to find his music. Baijie, Tripitaka, Wujing, and Dragon Horse were long gone, passed away, and reincarnated into who knows when and where.
He needed someone to talk to. Someone that could hold a conversation. Someone to be able to take care of. Fill his lonely heart with love. Someone like a son.
Sun Wukong reached the top of Flower Fruit Mountain, the very same place where he was born out of stone that touched both earth and heaven, the south, east, west, and north corners pillars. Where he began his life but never reached death.
On top of the mountain stood Nüwa. Nüwa was the mother goddess, crafting humanity out of nothing due to her own loneliness. She, too, understands Sun Wukong's own feelings about wanting a companion. She appeared in a bright yellow light to answer the old Monkey King's prayers as he begged for a life he can take care of. In her right hand, she held a bowl full of yellow clay, and in her left, tools to craft the clay.
“I see you have brought the rock.” She spoke in a soft mystical voice. A smile formed on her lips as she glided herself towards the Monkey King. “It is a beauty. Tell me, why did you choose this one out of all the other ones?”
Wukong chose his words carefully. He knew whatever he answered would influence how Nuwe would craft his clay child.
“This rock,” Wukong spoke. “This rock in my hands fell on my lap one day when I was outside my cave. It was warm from the sun and covered in moss from when the water touched the earth. No wind could have pushed this or heaven would have destined this upon me. No other rock would have fallen down from where it had come from except for this. This is how I had come upon my child. This is who my child will be born from.”
Nüwa's silence was comforting as he held out the rock towards her. With his strength, he split the rock in half. Inside it was hollow, the perfect place to put his clay child. Sun Wukong placed the pieces on the mossy stone pillar where his stone once stood. There, he sat down on the floor and watched Nuwe perform her craftsmanship.
Nüwa started off by collecting the clay from the bowl into her hands. Her coarse hands moved with grace as she created life out of a lump of moist yellow clay. The figure took shape into a small monkey with lumpy spiky hair and a messy heart shape mark over its eyes and nose. And the little tale that kept sliding off of its bottom. But Wukong was patient, for once, as his tail eagerly wagged left to right watching. He knew what Nuwe was doing. Another test of his was to learn patience as her craft took time to get its shape perfectly.
With a quick flip of her hand, a small fire erupted from a small crack in the ground. Its light was hot despite how small it was as the mother goddess placed the little clay body near it. She laid out her tools in front of her, her hands waving around before she picked up the smallest carving knife. She picked up a small knife and gently made her large adjustments on such a delicate-looking body. The eyes were wide, bright-eyed as it looked straight ahead at Nuwe. Its body was like a form between a human and a monkey with long human limbs but the fur of an animal all over the elbow, shoulders, thighs, and calves. Its messy heart took the form of a perfect little peach, just the same as Sun Wukong's birthmark. The crooked smile on the toddler's face made Nuwe laugh as she gently massaged its spiky hair, carefully wrapping it around a little hair tie to hold it in place
What seemed like hours turned out to be slow minutes as she held out the beautifully crafted ceramic piece in front of Sun Wukong. Wukong stared at it in awe, tears that would never fall mist his peachy eyes as the little figure was dropped in his hands. It was beautiful. This was going to be his little sun.
Wukong felt a small tug on his head and the slight pain of his hair being plucked out. He looked up and watched as Nuwe placed the orange hair in the small open hands of the clay figure.
“Sun Wukong. Your son is ready to be born from my hands but the mind of yours.” Nuwe declared. “May its life prosper in both heaven and earth as it becomes full of life!”
“Thank you… Goddess?” He said but as he looked up, all that was left was a fading bright light. She had disappeared, fulfilling her duty.
Sun Wukong shook his head as he smiled, a little chuckle leaving his lips. “Looks like it’s just you and me, bud.”
Sun Wukong placed the little clay figure inside one of the halves of the broken rock. He grabbed the other half and placed it over the other, covering up his little clay child before he used his strength to stick the halves together. Patting it down on the stone pillar, he took a few steps back.
He sat down, legs crossed and his hands on each side, and he waited. He would wait for as long as he needed for his son to come out. With his eyes closed and a deep breath, he meditated. And with his heart full of glee, he stayed calm and waited. Wait… wait… and wait.
