Capturing a Capuchin

The exhibit door was open, so he had to take a small peek inside. After all, he had traveled all this way to see the new exhibit, and he was not leaving without at least one photograph. He cautiously snuck through the door, raising his camera toward the sounds of a few monkeys in the trees. He was so focused on the playing primates, he didn’t realize the door had closed until he heard the loud click of the lock — and the voice of an employee behind him.

“Now, where did you come from?”

“I-I’m sorry! I j-just wanted to s-see the monkeys!”

“Oh, that’s alright. You’ll be joining them soon enough!”

The employee cackled and turned away from the trespasser as they began to change. The camera fell to the exhibit floor — the owner placing two hands on their head as the world around them grew. Their form began to compact – shrinking down into their clothes as fur began to sprout all over their arms and face. “W-hat’s g-goi– o-OOK!”

They fell to their knees; pants and underwear slipping off as a long simian tail uncurled behind them. Their mind was in a haze – senses assaulted by new sounds, new smells, and new sensations. Their face pushed out into a short snout; hair disappearing into a sea of fur as their form continued to shrink and shrink. The primate was almost entirely engulfed by the clothes that them just a few moments before. The exhibit grew silent as a small monkey poked out of the neck of the shirt. His inhuman hand grasped the camera – his more primitive brain unable to fully understand what it was anymore.

‘I-I’m monkey..? n-No… hu..man..? Ook..?’

“Aww, you’re almost fully a monkey now, aren’t you?”

The capuchin grunted and tilted his head toward the employee towering over them. The figure grinned and leaned in close, causing the small monkey to dart out of the shirt and deeper into the exhibit. Camera and clothes left behind save for a necklace dangling around their neck. The employee gathered the former man’s belongings and spied the other exhibit residents surrounding the new primate. The others prodded and poked at the smaller monkey’s accessory before helping lift it off and toss it aside. With a happy screech from their new member, the troop darted up the tree to play.