Caged

· life ·

I went to the zoo last week^1^, and found that watching the humans watching the animals was almost as interesting (and upsetting) as watching the animals themselves. They have a snow leopard, and as I approached the enclosure, I noticed a young man in his late teens, with an emo-ish air about him. He was standing in front of the glass viewing window, palm pressed to the glass, intently watching the snow leopard following its endless track around the cage. He was looking at the cat with such deep sympathy and sorrow that my heart went out to them both. He saw me, gave me a brief, hunted look and went back to his vigil.

Passing the enclosure later in the day, I saw the same chap. He was now sitting on the ground, leaning against the cage -- still looking in. In the week since going to the zoo, I've thought about Snow Leopard Man a few times, and hoped that he manages to work through his sadness somehow.

^1^ For work purposes, actually, which made a nice change of pace and scenery.