Good afternoon, Mr. Marabou!
I hope You are in a good health and remember me well!
I used to visit you a lot, sometimes every day. I was studding in an Art School in front of the Zoo and was coming to draw animals at that time, it was amazing, feeling to be surrounded by nature, like on an paradise island, among the concrete jungle. I loved to draw birds the most, they were so proud and free, at least it seemed to me like that. Drawing wings, I approached the cells very close and imagined myself flying over the ocean, the desert, between the rocks, seeing the world … Spending more time walking along the narrow paths between enormous cells, I was losing my understanding of who of us is in the cell and who is free, and who is looking at whom.
It was different when I was coming to draw You, Marabou; Your aviary was on the other side of the Zoo, and despite the fact that it was a large square with many benches, unlike others, You had no neighbours and the bench opposite Your aviary was always free. You were always calm, almost motionless, and always very lonely. People did not like to come to You, maybe they were afraid of You, either because You were too big or Your beak seemed threatening to them. You were boring for the others, resembling an old, almost bald man with funny curl of grey hair and a bad smell. Although You were very clean and even was washing Your food before eating it, which seemed very sweet to me. I didn’t want to see You sad, so I was always visiting You. We were almost the same height that time and the same age as well. It seemed to me that we understand each other somehow; we could stare at each other for hours. For me, You looked like a wiseacre who always thought about something infinite. Sometimes You looked into the distance. There was a shiny Hilton Hotel skyscraper reflecting the sun, outside the Zoo.
You were really lonely. And I felt responsible and guilty for what You did not experience. You could live by the sea, have many friends, be a caring parent, and have an important profession of an orderly, cleansing the earth and preventing diseases.
Of course, You could live happily in the city and fulfil an important mission in the Zoo, presenting Your kind, proudly scurrying with a solemn gait in a strict military color, but people did not come to You anyway, and I do not remember you moving too much, only your mooing, when you were dare to complain.
Coming out of the zoo, the city always felt natural.
I'm sorry that I don't visit You anymore. I chose a different place to live and a different life, because I can.
I wish You could choose to be happier too
Dasha
I hope You are in a good health and remember me well!
I used to visit you a lot, sometimes every day. I was studding in an Art School in front of the Zoo and was coming to draw animals at that time, it was amazing, feeling to be surrounded by nature, like on an paradise island, among the concrete jungle. I loved to draw birds the most, they were so proud and free, at least it seemed to me like that. Drawing wings, I approached the cells very close and imagined myself flying over the ocean, the desert, between the rocks, seeing the world … Spending more time walking along the narrow paths between enormous cells, I was losing my understanding of who of us is in the cell and who is free, and who is looking at whom.
It was different when I was coming to draw You, Marabou; Your aviary was on the other side of the Zoo, and despite the fact that it was a large square with many benches, unlike others, You had no neighbours and the bench opposite Your aviary was always free. You were always calm, almost motionless, and always very lonely. People did not like to come to You, maybe they were afraid of You, either because You were too big or Your beak seemed threatening to them. You were boring for the others, resembling an old, almost bald man with funny curl of grey hair and a bad smell. Although You were very clean and even was washing Your food before eating it, which seemed very sweet to me. I didn’t want to see You sad, so I was always visiting You. We were almost the same height that time and the same age as well. It seemed to me that we understand each other somehow; we could stare at each other for hours. For me, You looked like a wiseacre who always thought about something infinite. Sometimes You looked into the distance. There was a shiny Hilton Hotel skyscraper reflecting the sun, outside the Zoo.
You were really lonely. And I felt responsible and guilty for what You did not experience. You could live by the sea, have many friends, be a caring parent, and have an important profession of an orderly, cleansing the earth and preventing diseases.
Of course, You could live happily in the city and fulfil an important mission in the Zoo, presenting Your kind, proudly scurrying with a solemn gait in a strict military color, but people did not come to You anyway, and I do not remember you moving too much, only your mooing, when you were dare to complain.
Coming out of the zoo, the city always felt natural.
I'm sorry that I don't visit You anymore. I chose a different place to live and a different life, because I can.
I wish You could choose to be happier too
Dasha
