Every morning, Mun walked to school with a backpack full of books—and a tiny monkey named Pupu clinging tightly to his shoulder.
Pupu wasn’t just any monkey. She had been found as a baby, all alone in the forest, and Mun’s family had taken her in. From the moment they met, Mun and Pupu were inseparable. She followed him everywhere—when he brushed his teeth, when he fed the chickens, even when he did his homework (though she mostly tried to steal his pencil).
But one day, Mun had to start school in a nearby village. His mother explained that Pupu couldn’t go with him.
“She’s a monkey, sweetheart. School is for children,” she said gently.
Mun nodded, though his heart ached. Pupu didn’t understand. The next morning, when Mun put on his shoes, Pupu jumped into his arms, thinking it was another adventure.
As they reached the school gate, Pupu clung tighter. Mun tried to pry her fingers off, but she whimpered and shook her head, pressing her cheek to his.
“I’ll be back soon, Pupu,” he whispered. “Just wait for me.”
But when he handed her to his mother, Pupu let out the saddest cry anyone had ever heard. She wriggled, reached out for Mun, and finally curled into a little ball in his mom’s arms, eyes full of tears.
Mun couldn’t help but cry too.
Inside the classroom, Mun sat by the window, staring outside more than at the blackboard. He missed the warmth of Pupu on his shoulder. And back at home, Pupu refused to eat. She just waited by the door, watching for her boy.
When school finally ended, Mun raced home. The moment Pupu saw him, she squealed and leapt into his arms. She wrapped herself around him, tail and all, like she’d never let go again.
That evening, Mun did his homework with one hand—because Pupu wouldn’t let go of the other.
And that’s how it went. Every morning, a teary goodbye. Every afternoon, the happiest reunion. Because Monkey Pupu just couldn’t bear to be apart from her best friend.
