G/T Stories

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- Good morning Paul! - Keira chirped happily, switching to her work clothes.

- Mornin' - man replied, buttoning his shirt.

- Why the long face? Did something happen? - woman asked with sympathy.

- Today is the day my son disappeared. Sixth year without him - he murmured, tears sprang to his eyes.

- I'm sorry... - Keira said.

- It's fine, you didn't know - Paul replied.

- Maybe you should take a day off, to grieve in peace? - she suggested.

- No, no... If I stayed in home, I would probably have been drinking all day long... or worse - he shuddered at that thought. Though he had been clear for so many years, he still had few acid tabs hidden in his house.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a loud growl resonating in the air. Keira chuckled.

- It seems that someone is getting impatient - she laughed.

- I better go - man responded and left the employees lounge.

Although this day was really painful, he managed to smile a little at the sight of the giant clinging to the fence, looking out for him.

Giant spotted Paul, his lips curled up in a smile and his tail was wagging like crazy.

When man got to the gate, giant was practically prancing around his enclosure. Barely Paul entered giant's territory, he was cornered by large hands and lifted up to giant's face.

- Hi Thug - he said and put his hands on giant's nose, which was tickling his stomach.

Man still didn't know why out of all zookeepers Thug chose him. He didn't know what made him so special in giant's eyes, but nevertheless, he was glad. He missed his son dearly, but Thug helped him with everyday struggle.

Of course, he would never replace Hunter, but man often cannot help feeling that this gigantic beast and his missing son had a lot in common.

First thing he noticed immediately, was the similarity, indeed sameness appearance of eyes. Thug had grey eyes, with dark brown rim around the pupils. Hunter had identical eyes. The main difference was, that Hunter's eyes constantly held negative emotions and Thug's were looking at Paul with love and some kind of pleading for forgiveness.

The next thing he noticed was the fact, that Thug liked the same sweets as his son. He once yanked chocolate bar from man's hand and devoured it instantly. Since then, man was bringing some sweets to the work and gave them to Thug when no one was watching.

Giant also seemed to like football, just like his son. When man was watching a match on his tablet during his break (he always spent them in Thug's enclosure, so that people could see the giant), Thug leaned in and was watching it as well.

And because of that he started to wonder if Thug was somehow connected to the disappearance of his son. Yet, he missed a one detail of Hunter's, that's why he slowly started to believe that Thug's behavior was just a coincidence.

***

Hunter didn't know at first why his dad was so depressed today, but when he saw what day it was, he quickly understood.

It was so frustrating, having his father by his side, who didn't know that giant was actually his son. He tried multiple times to somehow reach to his dad, but failed miserably. He didn't have anything to write and he didn't know the sign language. Not to mention that his speaking was incomprehensible to his father.