The heat had finally broken, and the sun was slanting to the side as Susie walked through the thinning crowds of the animal park. It had been a fun day, meeting with her sister and nieces to have a girls day in the zoo, helping her forget about the craziness that was her life. David, her abusive, now ex-boyfriend, and the general anxiety of being done with college without a next step. But wandering through the large exhibits of animals, seeing her nieces frolicking around, high on sugar and summertime, made her relax. She had stayed even after they left, to have another lap of the zoo on her own.
The apes were her favorite exhibit of the zoo. Susie loved watching them, so close to being human, yet so distinct as well. She leaned against the railing, first taking in the orangutans, leaning against the railing. Her lithe body moved easily, years of dance making her so graceful. Susie stood at 5’10” but only 120 lbs, a stick of a girl, with 28a small breasts and short-cropped blonde hair, a few freckles dotting her face. She stood in jeans and a blue blouse, hands easily resting on her hips, watching the orangutans play in their family group., then wandering further, to the gorillas.
They always fascinated her the most, these large hulking animals, but also with the gentleness that isn’t always evident in animals. Susie often thinks that is why they are so reminiscent of humans. Most of the family is together, playing with the young, eating the celery the trainers have tossed in.