kelsey

Tiger Training

Matt left me alone for the rest of the morning and he didn't say anything about what he saw this morning. Breakfast consists of adults drinking coffee with sleep still in their eyes. I made a comment about the adults slowing waking up with coffee, as if they were getting their fill of gasoline. Cathleen laughs and continues to make a early morning conversation with me. I hide behind a curtain of hair and manage to put my tendrils into a side braid with my long, thick bangs right in front of my face.

"Why do you do that?" Cathleen asks me. "I mean I get the fact that you don't like to show your face to others but why hide who you are?"

"Because, I don't like my face. I'm scarred for life. I feel like these scars are only for me to see. I don't showcase to the world who I am. Only those that I'm really close to know what I look like."

"Oh, But what about your boyfriend?"

"Ha, I don't have one, nor will I ever."

"I think you're giving up too soon. Maybe you haven't found the right guy yet."

You have no idea. You have no idea that I'm dying and that it's my job to make sure I don't hurt anyone else. I've hurt my best friend, killed my parents, and I've hurt everyone who has ever known me. I separated myself from everyone except Danel because I don't deserve any attention.

"Maybe. Excuse me, I have to... I have something to do." I make an excuse and leave the dining area. I make my way to the kennels and think sadly on all the things I will miss out on in life. I walk in and introduce myself to an older version of Matt. He gives me enough leashes for five dogs. I leash some and Mr. Davis grabs the rest. We set off and walk the dogs. After a long while, I ask Mr. Davis some questions about the tiger.

"Mr. Davis, Matt said that you don't know much about your tiger. Can you tell me how you got him?"

"Of course, we got him from another circus. Mr. Maurizio wanted to liven up the acts so we tried to get a big cat. The small circus tried to sell us one of their Siberian tigers but I saw Dhiren and I knew the white cat was perfect for us." we slowly start heading back to the kennels.

"I traveled with the other circus for a while to train with the tiger. Luckily, Dhiren is very calm and quite frankly, he seems bored with me. Are you ready to help out? The cage has safety latches and I will be nearby to make sure nothing goes wrong." Even if something does go wrong, I can protect myself with my powers, I thought, looking down at my hands. I unwind a dog from a tree and help Mr. Davis feed and water the dogs.

"You know, within  a few years, tigers could be completely wiped out. India has already passed several laws to prohibit poaching, but sometimes tigers will steal sheep and villagers take matters into their own hands."

We walk to another building and look in to see the tiger in a cage. The wagon that had been part of the performance yesterday was set to the side. I walk up to the cage and watch as Mr. Davis opens a bottle of liquid vitamins for the tiger. He pours some into a water bowl and fills it with some water too.

"Kelsey, meet Dhiren. Come here, I want to show you something."

We approach the cage and the tiger lifts its head and watched me closely. It had white fur and the bluest eyes I had seen since before I met Danel. Those eyes seemed as if they can stare right through me. Did it get a little hotter since we've walked in?

I blow air through the stifling heat in the building and the tiger tilts its head at me as I struggle to contain my emotions. I broke eye contact and made my way to Mr. Davis. He instructs me to get the tiger's breakfast. I make my way to the refrigerator and retrieve the tiger's meal for the morning. As I dish up it's breakfast I ask more questions.

"Mr. Davis, is that a male or female tiger?" A noise comes from the tiger, almost as if he were growling at me. "What are you growling at me for?"

"Ah, you've offended him, he's very sensitive. To answer your question, It's a he. After he's done eating I want you to get up to the window and watch Dhiren practice. If anything goes wrong, I want you to climb out and get Mr. Maurizio."

I watch the tiger come out of its cage, looking like a giant housecat.  The tiger moves around the barn and follows Mr. Davis's commands. He jumps from stool to stool with ease. I noticed that there were several times that Dhiren could easily have taken Mr. Davis. Once, the poor tiger had it's tail stepped on, but it just growled and moved it's tail, his paw was close to Mr. Davis's face but he swiftly moved it aside. It was getting a bit hot in the barn so I moved the air around a bit and the tiger looks at me from the corner of its eye.

It stops jumping from each stool and turns to face me entirely. I felt a little uncomfortable and I was unable to break contact until I heard a small whisper calling out to me. I look out the window and see Danel at the bottom, waving his arms at me. I motion him aside and tell him to back off. He finally leaves and I face Mr. Davis and the tiger and notice that Mr. Davis has been waving to me for a while now. I sheepishly climb down and head to the main building to help Matt get ready for the show.