Behind The Glass

I looked out longingly ahead, it was all right in front if me, but I couldn't reach it.

I saw the grass, it was tall and wild, almost as if untouched, it was such a vibrant green. Small water droplets littered the ground, glistening in the sunlight as though they were the beads of a necklace, scattered as far as the eye could see. And the trees, well, they reached high above me, shielding me from the outside world.

A gust of wind picked up some fallen leaves as they flew towards the small pond and landed in the water creating small ripples. They were so graceful, almost as though they were dancing, oh how I wished I could dance with them.

I couldn't see far enough to tell if any fish swam in the pond but I thought that if they did, there would be many. Each one a brighter colour than the other, their scales shimmering almost like the lights at a party.

I turned my attention to the right, and then I saw what lay beyond the trees, two bright yellow eyes stared at me from a distance, watching my every move. Slowly he moved towards me, each footstep was silent so not to disturb the tranquility. He stepped into the sunlight and than, rather loudly, fell onto the cool, damp grass with a thud. It made me jump a but but I quickly regained my composure, I didn't was to lose sight of him. His fur was a dark orange, almost brown, and his whole body from his puffy, furry cheeks to his tail was covered in black stripes. they seemed so unnatural, like someone had painted them on, but I don't think anyone would be able to get close enough to do so.

It was a hot day, and the air was dry and constricting. He opened his mouth and started panting. His ears twitched frantically as he let out a yawn, I saw his teeth. The were like Ivory, but seemed a faint yellow near his gums. A breeze picked up and ruffled his fur and I read the the small sign next to me: TIGER (PANTHERA TIGRIS) I drew my gaze away from it and stared down at my feet.

Below me was anything but lush grass, just the cold, damp concrete floor, next to the cold, damp concrete wall which was loosely sculpted to resemble the shape of a rock face with tufts of fake green grass placed on it occasionally.

I turned my attention to the people next to me, all eager to see this tiger and snap photos of it. Then I became aware of the noise I had managed to drown out, shuffling and bustling, people talking and children shouting, everyone preoccupied in something of their own. Everybody was squirming and pushing as they went from one animal to the next. I sighed and slowly placed my hand onto the cold glass, I wondered how it was on the other side, I imagined how silent and peaceful. So calm and yet so wild. A place where the only thing that disturbed you was the singing of birds, it was so beautiful and yet everyone else discarded it, they saw it as some decorations, nobody stopped to acknowledge what really lay in front of them.

I thought about it some more, what if the tiger felt the same way? what if he wanted to know what my world was like and what I saw. What if he saw every minuscule detail that I managed to oversee. I was so obsessed in my thoughts I didn't acknowledge the stunned silence in the room for a long time, or the fact that nobody was pushing and shoving, or the fact that everyone had moved away from the glass.

And then I saw it, the tiger had moved from his patch of grass, he was in front of me now and we were face to face.

I could make out the features of his face so clearly. His eyes stared at me, they were like fireworks, so bright, they were a darker shade of yellow near his pupils, full of wonder and curiosity, as though he was a child who hadn't opened his Christmas presents yet. he didn't blink. He seemed so interested in me, and in a sudden twist I felt as though I was the one in the cage. My hand didn't leave the glass, instead I just crouched down so we were the same height. I smiled at him and he tilted his head slightly to the left. I Guess we both had questions that the other just couldn't answer, I guess we both wanted to see what was behind the glass.