The Summer Deal

Fifteen - The Animal Whisperer

I kept staring at Noah in a mix of disgust and awe as he played with a monkey who had climbed on his shoulder.

"Sarah, look! He likes me!"

"Oooooooooooaak! Eeaaaaaaak! Oook!"

Noah threw his head back and laughed heartily. He had already drawn some attention from the crowd with his new companion. "I like you too, monkey." The tree-climbing mammal tried to walk on Noah's head, pulling his hair in between. "Ow! Hey, monkey, no!"

"Bend your head down. He wants to switch sides." The zookeeper informed him. Did I mention that the monkey-keeper is a sweet, young woman with blonde hair, and she has not stopped making googly eyes at Noah?

I just wanted to see some animals. Give me a break, for God's sake.

The monkey climbed over his other shoulder, and people around us gave round applause. I tried to cover my face with my hand and stepped away from Noah, blending in with the crowd, when I noticed some people taking out their phones and recording the whole scene.

I can't take any risks. Anything can blow up on social media these days.

"Good boy!" Noah patted the monkey's head and gave him a small banana as a treat. I don't even want to know how he got that. "He's fantastic, isn't he?" He asked the zookeeper.

"He is," the woman answered with a big smile. "He seems to fancy you a lot!"

"Quaack. Quaaack!" I jumped in surprise when a group of ducks walked past my feet and accidentally tripped on someone, spilling their drink all over their shirt.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry... I was just trying to—"

"Thanks a lot, woman." I couldn't tell whether the man was being sarcastic or genuine. "I can finally throw this shirt away."

"Umm... you're welcome?" I said, confused. The man simply muttered and cursed something about tourists and walked away, wiping his shirt with a tissue.

Someone tapped my back. "All done?"

I didn't bother turning around and walked ahead of him, my grip firm on the strap of my handbag. Since we were around monkeys, no pun intended for the one walking behind me, there were huge boards everywhere warning us to keep the valuables safe. "I should be asking you. You're making a lot of new friends here."

"So you're jealous of my friendship with a monkey?" he asked, amused.

I took a piece of gum from my pocket and began chewing it, throwing the wrapper in the nearby bin. I was trying out some alternatives to curb the urge of smoking after three days. "No. But I think you forgot to take that woman's number."

We stopped in front of a giant mother gorilla sleeping peacefully with her baby gorilla. Noah fanned a piece of paper in front of my face. It had the girl's number on it. "Is it too hot in here, Sarah? Or is it jealousy boiling in your blood?"

I made an ugly face when I noticed I didn't like the flavor in my mouth, so I simply took the paper from his hand, tore it, and spit out the chewing gum on it. "I should have taken the strawberry flavor. Breath mints are fine, but mint-flavored gum is nasty." I folded the paper and tossed it in the bin like a pro player. "And you should stop saying that I'm jealous of every little thing. I'm not a child. The only reason why I haven't ditched you yet is that you're my ride back to the hotel."

Noah did not bother finding that woman for her number again. He was too afraid of going anywhere near the Primate Kingdom for his own reasons.

Our next stop was the aviary. We were given a packet of nuts to feed the birds if they came to us. Since the zoo was transformed into a sanctuary, the animals were let to roam free, and once again, some birds took a special liking to Noah by standing on his shoulders and arms.

I hope snakes and alligators also take a keen interest in him when we visit Reptilia Land.

"How do you do it?" I asked him.

"Do what?" he asked, feeding nuts to a beautiful bird with green and red feathers.

"This." I gestured to him and then to everybody else around us. "How are they liking you so much? Anywhere we go, the animals come flocking around us. Are you some sort of animal whisperer?"

"Of course not!" He laughed. "I like animals, and they like me back. That's all."

"I don't believe you. It was not just the monkeys. We petted some goats too, and most of them were ready to jump on you." I said and raised a brow. "Do you speak their language?"

"I can speak five languages, but sadly, animalese is not one of them." He said, letting go of the bird to its keeper.

I let out a snort. He did not just make up a word. "You're bluffing."

"Anti tubdin jamilatan jidana alyawma."

What? I looked at him, surprised.

"That was Arabic, for I want a bird to shit on you."

My face grew red, and I threw a nut at his face. "Same to you, mister!"

"Ow!" Noah flinched, rubbing his forehead. "What the fuck, Sarah?"

"Fuuuuuuuuuck Saaaraaah!" A bird screeched from a tree branch above us. We froze. It wasn't rocket science to figure out what kind of bird it was. "Fuccccccck!"

"Holy shit," Noah cursed again, and I hit his arm.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

"Shiiiiiiiiiiit fuuuucck Saaraaaaaah!"

"Fuuuuck!"

"Hey! Who started this?" We heard a guard shout from a distance.

"Hooooolly shiiiiiiiiiit!"

"Sarah?" Noah leaned close to my ear. A bird landed right in front of us, eagerly waiting for us to say something out loud. Noah noticed the flying feather creature, so he pressed his lips on my ear, out of the bird's hearing range, his nose deep buried in my hair, and all of a sudden, I regretted not tying my hair.

My knees nearly weakened when I heard him take a long, deep breath.

"Sarah?"

I could not speak. I was not supposed to speak. "Mm-hmm?"

"Are you athletic?"

I shook my head very slowly and regretted my actions again as soon as his nose touched the back of my ear. The bird tilted its head, curious to learn more from us.

"Okay," he breathed out. That single word brought goosebumps down my arm. "You think we can make it to Aqualand?"

I was not going to repeat my mistake. "Mhm-hmm."

"Sorry. I didn't get that." I could hear the smile in his voice. The man was surely enjoying this moment. "Just nod if it's a yes."

I maintained eye contact with the bird as I gave him a quick nod and closed my eyes for a moment, controlling the sudden desire to break his nose as it scraped against my ultra-sensitive skin.

A guard shouted behind us. "Hey, you! Stay right there!"

"Run, Sarah!"

"Ruuuuuuuuuuuun! Fuuuuck Saaaarraaah!"

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