Freedom
A growl escapes as I crouch really low to make my way out of the tunnel that connects my small room to the slightly larger wired enclosure. Each passing day it gets increasingly difficult to squeeze in and out of this makeshift tunnel. Some days, I just prefer to sleep inside the room, it’s cool and quiet, away from the poking eyes of the humans. But eventually, the rancid odor that permeates every corner of the room forces me out. You see the cleaning services in the wildlife park leave something to be desired.
Today, bracing myself for another day of utter boredom, I peek outside the tunnel to see a few humans strolling leisurely outside my enclosure. Some are patiently waiting near the tunnel for me while a few stop to read the plaque that tells the story of a vicious man-eater panther captured by the brave villagers after a great struggle. I heard the story for the first time many years back, when a human read the plaque to his young one.
It infuriated me then, “Blatant lie, it was a calf not a human” I screamed, but all that came out was a menacing growl that only reinforced my reputation and got me a few strikes from the zookeepers baton.
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To set the record straight, despite what my plaque says, when I was out in the wild, humans did not interest me much. I much preferred goats and calves, easy to scare and quick to catch. Humans always seemed too much trouble for little payback.
Now I am older and wise. These days, I have developed a standard formula that gets me in least trouble with the zookeeper. Make an entrance, pace a little, some scowling and teeth baring at the precious few who appear, and then find my favorite spot atop the tree trunk inside the enclosure to get some sun. Life is good.
This day, I was ready to take my perch atop the tree when I first saw it, no, first whiffed it. My ears perked and as I turned, there it was, a small plump human. After surviving on dead rabbits and frozen beef logs for an eternity, the tiny human seemed perfect! Oh how it would be to creep up behind it, wait for it to turn, leap and grasp it by the shoulders and finally dig my teeth in its neck. All would be done in a moment, the small human won’t know what hit it.
My heart is in my head, thumping as I watch the tiny human move closer to the enclosure excitedly, lacing its fingers around and pulling on the chicken wire fence with small hands.Yeah he will not stand a chance.
This is the moment. I step back a little to take my stance, crouch low and leap towards the human with an audible hiss. I see its eyes follow me up and down as I crash against the wire mesh inside the cage and fall down with a loud thud. I think I broke a few ribs and at least one claw. As I lie on my side catching my breath I see the big human scoop the tiny human in his arms and rush away. I close my eyes and wait for the batons.
