Chapter 36
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Sadik didn’t drive them back to the cottage, rather to an arcade. Nikola looked at the place and let himself be led inside. They went to a fighting game and got in place.

“I’ll have you know I am good at these, so, I can teach you,” Nikola nodded. He had never gone to an arcade before. Growing up, he had Mario to entertain him. And there weren’t many arcades in Bulgaria, either.

Sadik showed him the basic controls, but, when the fight began, Nikola hesitated too much. Sadik scored an easy win and he turned around.

“This is not a real fight. You are not hurting anyone,” Nikola looked at his fallen champion. He supposed that was the case.

“Still, I doubt that such games are for me,” Sadik wondered what was for him. Probably reading books.

“So, not a good idea. Shall we go to the zoo?” Sadik wanted to spend the day here, but, he supposed, that gawking at animals was just as good.

“I don’t like it there. The animals are slowly driven to madness by being caged,” Sadik groaned.

“You do know that people have been caging animals since before our religions were invented, right?” Nikola nodded.

“Yes, but that doesn’t make it any less wrong,” Sadik sighed.

“You eat meat. It is not like the animals that were butchered were caught from the wild. You have a very selective way of disapproving of things, you know. They use the money from the zoos to take care of the animals. Going to see them would be good for them,” Nikola was reminded of father Sergei’s words. Perhaps he judged everyone selectively, not just himself.

“I suppose we can go. What animals do they have?” Sadik grinned and took Nikola’s hand, leading him out and into the car.

“A bear, it has a sort of bath for the warmer months. There is a giraffe pair, and they had a baby recently. And, then there are the wolves and the lions. The petting zoo doesn’t have any exotic animals in it, either. Just some ship, fluffy pigs and a hamster,” Nikola had frowned at the mention of a petting zoo, but, his face softened when Sadik had clarified.

“That is good to hear,” Sadik drove them, Nikola once more not breaking the silence. They paid at the entrance of the zoo and waited until a group gathered, so they could go to the tour.

There were some locals who greeted them, and a mother with twins began chatting them up when they passed the chimpanzees.

“I wanted to do something they could remember. They just finished the first grade and think that they don’t want to go to school anymore. I am yet to tell them that they need to go next year,” Sadik chuckled at that and looked at the twins who were making faces at the chimpanzees and not listening to their mother.

“Yes, a trip to the zoo…” one of the chimpanzees picked up its poop and threw it at one of the twins. The boys screamed and went to hide behind their mother. Nikola looked at the angry primate and cracked a grin.

“They are certainly fairy,” he commented, and then he chuckled. The chimpanzee looked at him and neared the bars of the cage. It extended its arm through them and looked at Nikola expectantly. Nikola traced its gaze and saw that it was locked on Nikola’s pocket. From where a bag of almonds was pocking out.

“How did you see it?” The primate made a sign with his fingers that he wanted to get something, and Nikola pulled out some almonds and was just about to give them to the chimpanzee, when the tour guide snapped at him.

“No feeding the animals. Sir, get away from the bars,” Nikola looked at the line he had crossed and wondered when. He pocketed his almonds and the primate pocked its tongue out at him.

“Sorry, but these are the rules,” Nikola got back to Sadik and listened as the tour guide continued on her lecture about the occupants of the enclosure. Nikola supposed that it was big enough and that the animals weren’t lonely. There, the tour guide told them, was just one male.

That way, there was no infighting in the group. Nikola decided that was good of the zookeepers. They moved to some small monkeys with big eyes next. Apparently, they were called Tarsiers. Nikola found their wide stare unnerving. He edged to Sadik and the Tarsiers as one, turned their heads to stare at him.

“First the chimpanzee liked you and now the weird monkeys. Sir, what is your secret?” Nikola turned to look at one of the twins, who was looking at him with wonder.

“I don’t think they like me. Just look at how they are staring,” Sadik hummed next to him.

“Do you think they can feel something?” Asked the Turk.

“Feel what?” Asked the twin, who seemed to still be listening in.

“Niki’s kindness,” the twin rolled his eyes and then turned to wave at the monkeys as they moved away from them. Next, it was the lemurs. They didn’t stay long around them because they looked just as bewitched by Nikola and the tour guide ushered them along.

“My apologies, sir,” said the guide as she neared Nikola and Sadik. “But, can I see the contents of your pockets?”

Nikola shrugged and emptied his pockets in form of everyone. Giving his things to the guide.

“I am sorry that I asked this of you. I thought you have gotten some substances pass the entrance. The primates behaved very strangely,” the guide returned him his things, and Nikola smiled.

“I have this effect on animals,” it was mostly his slight angelic grace. Animals felt it and reacted to it. It was the reason behind him tending to the animals his family had, back home. They were always milder around him.

“If you would like, there is a volunteer program at the zoo. You will have to go through some classes to qualify to be around the animals, but, you seem to be putting them at ease,” the tour guide sounded like she genuinely cared about the animals. Nikola could admire her for it.

“Sign us both up,” said Sadik after reading the agreement in Nikola’s mind.

“Yes, I guess I can come in here before work,” added Nikola. The tour guide grinned, and they moved onto the gorilla enclosure. 

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