Black Rainbow
''Why do you call him Black Rainbow?'' The little girl's curiosity had got the better of her.
The young zookeeper smiled magnanimously. ''Well, of course he is a black panther, or black jaguar ,which is a black leopard actually, but if you look closely, you can see that in one of his eyes ,he has a little circle of colour, like a rainbow. We don't know why ,but that's the reason he got his name.''
''He looks sad'', the little girl looked searchingly into the cat's emerald eyes.
The cat looked back at the little girl, he liked her. They seemed to share an affinity, she seemed to see inside him, sense his loneliness, and he,hers.Every day at the zoo was the same, feeding, pacing up and down and people, he must have seen thousands in his lifetime.His ancestors had probably never seen one well they hadn't missed a whole lot. They were supposed to be superior animals, though he couldn't understand why. His kind only killed for survival, not like them. The law of the jungle.
The zookeepers were mostly okay, at least they took care of his needs and there used to be a nice young woman that sometimes caressed his back and rubbed his ears. He missed her. She had not been afraid, she had known he had no desire to hurt anyone, there was only one thing he wanted....to be free! To dart through the forest, languidly recline high up in the mighty trees inhaling the aroma of the tropical night, with the exotic music of the forest in his ears. Here it was a concrete jungle, there was noise-everywhere ,blasting,booming,tumultuous, reverberating in his sensitive ears. The only smell here was rancid sweat, hot dogs and onions and pollution, choking, suffocating, oppressive. His, ''tree'' was a laughable imitation of those giants of the forest with their waxy, verdant leaves.
He wished the little girl could stroke his face like the young woman had done, but he knew that was impossible. He was a dangerous animal, what a joke-they should be more afraid of each other!
The boredom was the worst ,like a disease in here, not just for him, but for all the creatures captured for the amusement of humans. He slept a lot and in his dreams, his lithe limbs bounded through the dense luxuriant foliage and he stood on rocky outcrops so high they seemed to be suspended in the sky. From there he could see the river snaking through the land, the vast never-ending forest and the azure sky. At night the sky turned ebony with millions of glowing lanterns ,it was so vivid in his mind, he could even smell the air, pungent and moist ,it was the scent of natural life He longed to swim in the cascading waterfalls, he had not been born in captivity but had been taken to the zoo as an orphaned cub. These images were ingrained and imprinted on his memory. He felt them instinctively.
The little girl visited a lot after that, she chatted away to him, of course he couldn't understand her, there were some words he recognised from hearing them over the years, but generally he just liked her sweet, soothing voice. It calmed his aching heart. Time passed and the little girl grew a little older. One day she brought a lady with her and a small human who she had announced , her eyes shining, was her new baby sister ,she heard her call the lady Aunt Jasmine. Aunt Jasmine was like an older version of the little girl, same gentle way and soulful eyes. They stood there a long time talking, he knew they were talking about him ,he heard his name, Rainbow, that word he knew. The little girl smiled at him ,blew a kiss as she always did, but he thought he saw a tear in her eye. ''Goodbye Rainbow'', she whispered. He thought about this all through the long night. he always called out,' 'See ya'' and he knew she would return. This time was different and his heart felt heavy in his chest for it told him they would never meet again.
Time passed and he longed to see his friend, his days were empty again like long ,black voids stretching out merging into one another. One chilly morning in winter, when snow drifted down like gauzy petals, he was taken away from the zoo. He was afraid ,the zoo wasn't nice ,but at least there he was safe and fed. After what seemed like days, he was losing hope, in his heart, he knew this was the end for him. He could hear voices shouting and strange grinding noises coming from outside.Then,the doors opened and Aunt Jasmine was there with other humans.
''Welcome to your new home Rainbow, Bambara Big Cat Reserve-now run free!''
He padded hesitantly out of the cage, sniffing the air, t wasn't tropical, but it was fresh and before him opened a huge expanse of land, trees and water. He had no idea where they had brought him, but he knew he would be safe and above all, free! Lifting his head to the sun, closing his eyes, he could feel the call of the jungle ,then he swiftly ran into the trees to find the highest one he could, to make his bed for the night.
That night as Rainbow stretched out on his sweet smelling bough, he dreamt of the little girl and her smile. He would never forget her and felt sure now that they would meet again one day. He knew she had given him the best gift of all-freedom!
The young zookeeper smiled magnanimously. ''Well, of course he is a black panther, or black jaguar ,which is a black leopard actually, but if you look closely, you can see that in one of his eyes ,he has a little circle of colour, like a rainbow. We don't know why ,but that's the reason he got his name.''
''He looks sad'', the little girl looked searchingly into the cat's emerald eyes.
The cat looked back at the little girl, he liked her. They seemed to share an affinity, she seemed to see inside him, sense his loneliness, and he,hers.Every day at the zoo was the same, feeding, pacing up and down and people, he must have seen thousands in his lifetime.His ancestors had probably never seen one well they hadn't missed a whole lot. They were supposed to be superior animals, though he couldn't understand why. His kind only killed for survival, not like them. The law of the jungle.
The zookeepers were mostly okay, at least they took care of his needs and there used to be a nice young woman that sometimes caressed his back and rubbed his ears. He missed her. She had not been afraid, she had known he had no desire to hurt anyone, there was only one thing he wanted....to be free! To dart through the forest, languidly recline high up in the mighty trees inhaling the aroma of the tropical night, with the exotic music of the forest in his ears. Here it was a concrete jungle, there was noise-everywhere ,blasting,booming,tumultuous, reverberating in his sensitive ears. The only smell here was rancid sweat, hot dogs and onions and pollution, choking, suffocating, oppressive. His, ''tree'' was a laughable imitation of those giants of the forest with their waxy, verdant leaves.
He wished the little girl could stroke his face like the young woman had done, but he knew that was impossible. He was a dangerous animal, what a joke-they should be more afraid of each other!
The boredom was the worst ,like a disease in here, not just for him, but for all the creatures captured for the amusement of humans. He slept a lot and in his dreams, his lithe limbs bounded through the dense luxuriant foliage and he stood on rocky outcrops so high they seemed to be suspended in the sky. From there he could see the river snaking through the land, the vast never-ending forest and the azure sky. At night the sky turned ebony with millions of glowing lanterns ,it was so vivid in his mind, he could even smell the air, pungent and moist ,it was the scent of natural life He longed to swim in the cascading waterfalls, he had not been born in captivity but had been taken to the zoo as an orphaned cub. These images were ingrained and imprinted on his memory. He felt them instinctively.
The little girl visited a lot after that, she chatted away to him, of course he couldn't understand her, there were some words he recognised from hearing them over the years, but generally he just liked her sweet, soothing voice. It calmed his aching heart. Time passed and the little girl grew a little older. One day she brought a lady with her and a small human who she had announced , her eyes shining, was her new baby sister ,she heard her call the lady Aunt Jasmine. Aunt Jasmine was like an older version of the little girl, same gentle way and soulful eyes. They stood there a long time talking, he knew they were talking about him ,he heard his name, Rainbow, that word he knew. The little girl smiled at him ,blew a kiss as she always did, but he thought he saw a tear in her eye. ''Goodbye Rainbow'', she whispered. He thought about this all through the long night. he always called out,' 'See ya'' and he knew she would return. This time was different and his heart felt heavy in his chest for it told him they would never meet again.
Time passed and he longed to see his friend, his days were empty again like long ,black voids stretching out merging into one another. One chilly morning in winter, when snow drifted down like gauzy petals, he was taken away from the zoo. He was afraid ,the zoo wasn't nice ,but at least there he was safe and fed. After what seemed like days, he was losing hope, in his heart, he knew this was the end for him. He could hear voices shouting and strange grinding noises coming from outside.Then,the doors opened and Aunt Jasmine was there with other humans.
''Welcome to your new home Rainbow, Bambara Big Cat Reserve-now run free!''
He padded hesitantly out of the cage, sniffing the air, t wasn't tropical, but it was fresh and before him opened a huge expanse of land, trees and water. He had no idea where they had brought him, but he knew he would be safe and above all, free! Lifting his head to the sun, closing his eyes, he could feel the call of the jungle ,then he swiftly ran into the trees to find the highest one he could, to make his bed for the night.
That night as Rainbow stretched out on his sweet smelling bough, he dreamt of the little girl and her smile. He would never forget her and felt sure now that they would meet again one day. He knew she had given him the best gift of all-freedom!