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“Koko, I think the simians are plotting against our race. Look at them. I see them creeping and whispering in dark shadows and corners. It is like they are planning something, Koko. Why have they called for a conclave tonight?” Lelna spoke in a hushed tone as they passed by a troop of gorillas swinging from tree to tree in the cold breezy evening.

“I am starting to think that they had something to do with the plague that wiped out our parents and ancestors. Look at us now. We are young and helpless with little guidance on how to propagate our race. But them? they keep flourishing.” Lelna halted under a tree beside the river bank.

“No Lelna. We aren't helpless. Our strength is in our youth. Stop worrying. I'm sure it is nothing. It is their way of life.  They live in groups remember?” Koko lifted his strong shiny dark arm and kissed the bulge that had formed on it. “If for anything, we've got this.” He then softly rubbed Lelna’s forehead to smoothen the creases that had developed from worrying.

Lelna brushed his hand off. She ran her hands across her thick black woolly hair. She then smoothened the sides of her parka that were made of cow skin. 

“Can you ever be serious?” Lelna couldn't hide the smile that replaced the frown on her face. 

“The Conclave is in a few minutes. Let's hear them out. Come on let's go. Our chiefs are also waiting.” Koko began moving east while pulling Lelna along. Reluctantly, she followed.

Koko and Lelna were among the surviving children. They traced their ancestry to the leaders of the human race in the era before the plague. They had found more than just friendship in each other. They found love and support. Together they became the voice and pillar of their race. They formed a strong lead to represent the people in the affairs of the land.

Before the mysterious human plague a few decades ago, humans and simians had been cohabiting in harmony and respect for one another. Then the plague hit earth affecting only the human race. It devasted the human population leaving only children as survivors.

Lelna and Koko got to the conclave in time for the meeting. The Simian heads and several chiefs sat on carved wood around a big fire burning in the middle. Behind the heads were hefty Baboons drumming a fierce rhythm. On the trees above them, bands of gorillas were belching loudly as they swung from tree to tree.

After Lelna and Koko took their seats opposite the Simians, the grand gorilla made a gesture with his index finger. The belching and drumming came to a halt. He lifted his head, looked straight into the flames, and began to speak.

“This meeting will be brief and straight to the point. We have come eras with you and your kind. For generations before the plague, we have lived in harmony with your ancestors. I know you have seen us lately getting together. Fear not. We have decided to take nature into our hands by coming to a unanimous decision. The *fate* of the human race depends on you now. We will become almost extinct and let you repopulate the earth once again. When we return, we will do that only as animals and not as a race. We shall never speak again. 

“But on one condition. When your future comes speeding through the sky asking questions, you must tell them that we are ‘**the missing link’**. The link through which your race evolved and populated earth.” The grand gorilla peered harder into the flames. Lelna looked into Koko’s eyes and then stared at the burning fire. Through the flames, her eyes meet the grand gorilla's dark brown eyes. A lingering silence filled the air.

“We agree.” Lelna’s words broke the silence that pierced through Koko’s ears. The human chiefs began sharing glances. With a wave of the Grand gorilla's hand, the drumming and belching began again. The Simians began moving towards the forest until they disappeared with the sounds.

“Lelna why did you do that? We should have talked about it. All of us as one. What does he even mean by *our future*?” Koko spoke with a hint of unsettledness in his voice. 

“I don't know Koko. But it seems fair to let us have our moments in the eras of life. Let us be as our ancestors once were. Many and merry. It is our time too. Some of us can even head north where it is colder to settle and populate the land there.” Lelna faced the other chiefs with conviction in her eyes. They seemed to agree with her.

Moons passed with most of the simians gone. The few that remained went about their business never speaking to any human again.

One night, Lelna sat by her hut watching the moon when Koko came running like a cheetah. Beads of sweat dripped from his strong pulp chest. He could hardly catch his breath when he halted before Lelna. 

“There, by the river. Something came speeding from the sky, it landed in the bushes.” Koko finally steadied his breathing.

Lelna’s curiosity sparked. Together with Koko, they raced down to the riverside. When they got there, they found a big oval-shaped metal object surrounded by some humans and a few simians hanging on trees. 

A ringing sound followed and then an opening emerged from the object. It revealed a human staring back at them. He had much paler skin and silky straight hair. A strange material covered his body. He was as stunned as they were to find humans in that space in time after following his coordinates. 

“Hi. Do you understand me?” he waved his hands as he slowly came out of the object and approached them. Although they understood him, his accent sounded a little strange.

The humans nodded cautiously while watching every step he took.

“I don't have much time. My name is Dr. Brown and I'm a scientist from 2023. The future. My team and I have been on this project for almost a lifetime. ‘Studying human evolution.’ We built this time machine to come back into time and have a glimpse of where we missed out on evolution. I came to find the *missing link*. This is a test travel for sixty-five million years back in time. I've only got two hours.” he poured out.

Lelna looked at Koko and smiled. “Two hours is enough. Come let me tell you all you need to know.” she gestured to the stranger and smiled again. She would tell the story as it to the scientist. He would then return to the future with a theory of the *missing link*.

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