gt one shots

handprint

"Mommy, what is that?"

 A small child questioned his mother, pointing to the enclosure of the zoo. His mother, Kouvr, squinted at the fine print of the electronic screen, flashing information about the creature that resided in the large exhibit. 

Giant, it read. Kouvr scoffed at it and rubbed her eyes and read the plaque again, sure it was just a speck of dust that was in her contact lenses, or that there was a glitch and part of the name was missing. Maybe it was just a Giant Salamander, or something like that.

Giant - The shocking discovery of the creature dubbed a giant was made recently a few months ago, and Wild Zoo is proud to be the home of our 60 foot giant, Shorty. Shorty is a male, estimated to be the age of 26. 

Kouvr stopped reading. Her son looked at her impatiently, awaiting the answer to his question. The young woman peered into the glass, struggling to see anything in the dark enclosure. 

 "Mommy?"

 "Oh, um. I don't know, buddy. I don't think it's in there yet."

 "Oh. Okay." The toddler sounded disappointed, and took his mother by the hand, eager to see the rest of the animals. Kouvr struggled to keep up with him, clutching her slightly bulging belly.

 "Careful, Benjamin! Mommy's not as fast as she used to be, remember? Remember what I told you about having a new baby brother or sister?"

 "Okay." Benjamin nodded, his eyes wide and filled with guilt. The three year old clutched his mother's hand again, allowing Kouvr to lead at her own slow pace. 

Benjamin halted as a shadow passed over him momentarily. He spun around to face the exhibit. Kouvr turned to him, question in her eyes. 

 "Mommy? What is that?" He pointed at the enclosure once more. Kouvr sighed, irritated at the repetition.

 "Benny! I told you there's -" She looked to where her son was pointing, trailing off as she saw the glass.

A giant handprint was slowly fading from the glass.