I can no longer recognize him without his face. The rosemary oil in his beard made it that much more delicious. Besides, the zoo never seasoned my food.
It was a standard morning, the usual groups of sticky school children hurdled by. If I wandered up to the glass they would press their faces to it in awe. A few bus loads had emptied into the park that morning and I didn’t want to disappoint them.
A young couple followed behind the hordes of third graders. The woman was wearing a large camera around her neck. You didn’t see those much these days. I did my best stroll against the glass while her shutter fired away.
When I turned my head to make my way back I noticed the camera was no longer in her hands but on the ground and in pieces. The man grabbed her shoulder and began shouting in her face. As she bent down to pick up the broken lens he kicked her in the back, knocking her forward to the ground.
It just so happened that one of my keepers was bringing my lunch to the holding area of my enclosure. She grabbed her radio and phoned for security. He picked up the other part of the camera and threw it at the woman. My keeper, in her rush to help, left the partition door unbolted.
Security was coming anyway.
It was lunch time.