“Hana, you’re ready, right?”
“Yup!”
I was wearing clothes optimized for going out, while the dinosaur pajamas were already sprawled on the floor. Sorry to the dinosaur pajamas, but they were useless when going outside.
I also knew what embarrassment was, so I never dreamed of going out in pajamas. Of course, I wore them inside the building, but since the entire building was practically my home, it didn’t matter.
“Hair!!! You need to dry your hair!”
As I sat blankly on the bed, Haru made a fuss and said to me. Well, I had been too lazy to dry my hair properly and just roughly towel-dried it. Hearing Haru’s words, I smirked.
*Tap tap tap*
I stepped out to escape Haru’s grasp. In the face of my nimble and dazzling footwork, Haru had no choice but to collapse helplessly.
‘Almost there!’
Just as I reached the door and was about to leave, someone grabbed my waist and lifted me up. I was suddenly floating in the air. I flailed my legs, but sadly, they were too short to reach the ground. I pouted and checked who had grabbed me.
“Gasp!”
The culprit was Bora. Bora had a stern expression and said to me:
“Hana! You should listen to Haru! Just because I’m not going today doesn’t mean you can bother Haru.”
Bora’s words made sense. Since I’m a good person, I decided to listen today. Of course, I listen on other days too, but…
As I stayed still, Haru brought a hairdryer and dried my hair. The warm feeling was really nice. I used all my strength to stop my head from nodding off.
After drying my hair, I felt perfect. I held Haru’s hand and got ready to go out. Sadly, Bora had work and had to stay in the office. Today was the day we were going to the zoo. I had wanted to go for a while, and now we finally had the time and tickets to go.
“Let’s go!!!”
I shouted loudly as I left my room. I grabbed Haru’s hand and pulled her along with all my might. Haru awkwardly smiled and followed my lead.
————————————————
“Wow!”
When we arrived at the zoo, even though it was a weekday, there were a lot of people. Seeing so many kids my age made it really feel like we were at the zoo. Since it was still spring break, it seemed like all the students who didn’t have school on weekdays had gathered here.
After getting new tickets at the ticket booth, we confidently showed them to the entrance staff and entered. Inside, there were fewer people than outside, but I still held Haru’s hand tightly.
Just in case Haru got lost, I had to protect her. I had already decided which animal to see first.
“Haru, the giraffe! Let’s see the giraffe first!”
I wanted to see the long-necked giraffe. Despite its enormous size, since it was a herbivore, it wouldn’t attack unless provoked. Perfect for beginners.
“Okay. You don’t have to get too excited, Hana. We came early, so we have plenty of time.”
Haru’s words made sense, but every second still felt precious. I unfolded the map and familiarized myself with the zoo’s layout. Luckily, the map was easy enough for an elementary student to understand, so I had no trouble reading it.
Haru and I arrived at the giraffe enclosure. The giraffes were popular, and the area was bustling with people. My eyes sparkled as I looked at the giraffes. I had seen them on TV and in media, but in person, they were truly massive.
I had to tilt my head all the way back to see their faces. I watched a giraffe happily munching on something. People around were buying bread-like snacks to feed the giraffes. I wanted to try it too.
“Haru, Haru! I want to feed the giraffe bread too!”
“Really…? Then I’ll go buy some bread, so wait here quietly, okay?”
“Okay!”
I planned to stay still as Haru said. But the moment I made eye contact with the giraffe, I felt a tickling sensation in my chest.
The long-necked giraffe stopped eating bread from others and started walking towards me. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. In fact, I stared even more intently. The murmurs of the crowd grew louder.
“The giraffe is coming this way!”
“Wow, it’s so big!”
Being kids, they didn’t seem scared at all. I wasn’t scared either. In fact, I felt happy. The giraffe was now completely…
After a while, the giraffe stretched its long neck. I didn’t resist much as it came right up to my face.
The giraffe looked at me and then started licking my cheek. Feeling ticklish, I patted its face. It felt like raising a giant puppy.
“Hehe, that tickles!”
As I squirmed from the tickling, the giraffe seemed to notice and stopped licking my cheek. Then, at an incredibly fast speed, it grabbed the hat on my hoodie with its mouth. I felt like I was flying through the sky, hanging onto the giraffe.
“Whoa!”
The feeling of flying through the sky was refreshing. I didn’t mind because I felt like the giraffe wouldn’t harm me, but the people around screamed and ran away. They probably thought the giraffe was going to bite and eat someone.
However, the giraffe that grabbed me didn’t raise its head too high, as if it was worried I might get scared. I let myself be carried by the giraffe and ended up among a group of giraffes.
The giraffes gathered around me. They lowered their heads and licked me with all their might. It felt like I had become a druid. Maybe they thought I was their child. Do mother giraffes raise their young like this?
“A child has been taken by the giraffes!!! Help!!!”
“Ahhh! The giraffe is eating the child!!!”
I was perfectly fine, but people were deeply misunderstanding. Screams echoed everywhere. I waved my hands to calm them down.
“The child is waving for help!”
“Oh no!!! What do we do?!”
But contrary to my expectations, people seemed to misunderstand. I gave up on calming them and instead patted the heads of the giraffes licking me. They seemed to really enjoy it, licking me even more vigorously when I petted them.
These gentle and well-behaved giraffes were being misunderstood for no reason. Giraffes wouldn’t suddenly start eating meat, right? They’re herbivores, aren’t they? Well, I’m not sure if they occasionally eat meat like deer, but from my perspective, they were just sweet creatures.
While I was being pampered by the giraffes, a sharp scream rang out.
“Hana!!!”
There stood Haru, holding a loaf of bread. Haru was visibly anxious.
Really, I’m fine. People were just overreacting. After getting enough licks from the giraffes, I tried to climb back to where I was standing.
“Uh…”
But maybe because I’m short, I couldn’t climb over the fence. With Haru right in front of me, I made a sad face. But even if I were as tall as I was when I was a guy, it would’ve been a huge wall I couldn’t climb.
“Hana! Stay right there. I’ll call the zookeeper!”
But I had a plan. I gave a look to the giraffe that had brought me here. It nodded as if it understood and came closer to me. Then, as if it was used to this, it grabbed the hood of my hoodie with its mouth and lifted me up.
“Haru!”
I flailed in the air, reaching out to Haru. Haru dropped the bread bag and was visibly panicked. She probably never imagined I’d end up like this.
Haru quickly reached out and grabbed me. The giraffe that had carried me went back to its spot. Giraffes are really kind, after all.
“Are you hurt, Hana?”
“I’m fine, Haru!”
Since all I got was licked by the giraffes, I was perfectly fine. But Haru didn’t seem to believe me and kept checking if I was injured.
I’m really fine.
After some checking, Haru let out a long sigh and said to me.
“That’s a relief… I thought you got hurt when the giraffes took you.”
“No, Haru. The giraffes are so kind! Look!”
By then, the giraffes had gathered around me again. They were eyeing the bread that had fallen on the ground. I picked it up and handed it to them.
