Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

30. Old Man

Daphne tightens the straps to her backpack as she walks towards the entrance of the Central Park Zoo. She's been going to the zoo more often lately. Tao, the guard, knows her well enough to let her in without a ticket. He knows her dad works here and knows she has an annual pass anyways. With David often on her trail she thought she could hide from him at the zoo, but it wasn't long before he also got an annual pass. Whenever Tao let her through with David following her, she'd let Tao know and he'd take just a little more time checking David's pass to give Daphne the opportunity to hide at the other side of the park.

Daphne waves at Tao when she approaches him and he smiles at her.
"Back again?" He opens the gate for her. Daphne nods.
"Yep, just here to see my dad."
"Shouldn't you be at school?" He dismissively cocks his head at her.
"It's a long story, to be honest," Daphne says as she scratches the back of her head.
"Is that guy with you again?" Tao looks up to see if David's around.
"He's not, I actually got a restraining order for him!" Daphne feels bad for sounding excited about it, but she's yet to feel David's eyes on her today. She wishes it'll stay like that. She feels free.
"That's marvelous!" He lets her through the gate and closes it behind her. "I hope he leaves you alone."
"I hope so too," Daphne scoffs softly. She presses her lips into a smile and walks backwards into the park. "Thanks, Tao!"
"Anytime, Deedee!" Daphne chuckles at his nickname for her.

She's known Tao since she moved to New York, when her dad made the career change from farm veterinarian to researcher for the New York Zoo. Tao has always been so kind to them and she's grateful to have him in her life. Daphne turns to walk forward again and heads for the snow leopard enclosure with a slight detour. She knows her dad was scheduled to do a fertility check-up on the leopards. His break should be in about an hour, so she has time to wander around the park.

...

Daphne leans on the railing at the grizzly bear enclosure. The fuzzy animals are probably preparing for their hibernation now. They eat a lot to make sure they have enough fat to keep them sustained in their sleep and their hairs stand out, as if they've been blow dried, to keep them warm. She smiles at a bear that's having trouble biting through a pumpkin. Daphne didn't notice the old man stopping to stand next to her.

"They look so soft," he sighs quietly. Daphne looks up at him and then back at the bear. She chuckles.
"They do," she says. "But I wouldn't recommend petting them."
"Oh, I will not," the old man laughs. She doesn't really pay much attention to him. The bear struggling with the pumpkin is a lot more interesting. "What is a young lady like you doing here at this hour?" His British accent throws her off, but she doesn't reply to him, too caught up in the bear's antics and not really feeling like telling a tourist the whole story. "Shouldn't you be at school?"
"School's overrated," she says simply. Maybe if she sounds edgy, he'll leave her alone. Not that she actually minds him. He seems nice and he feels familiar somehow.

"That is a lie." Daphne still doesn't look at the man.
"And how would you know?" she asks it rhetorically, but she doesn't expect the man to reply the way he did. He leans closer to her with a wide, mischievous smile on his face.
"Because you cannot lie to me, Daphne." Her head shoots to the old man, who still has a grin from ear to ear. Her eyes go wide and her breath gets stuck in her throat. She pauses, trying to collect her thoughts. He seems amused at her confusion.
"You?!" She exclaims softly.
"Me!" The man opens his hands to her. The wrinkled skin around his eyes squeezes into them into slits as he smiles.

"Loki, what the hell are you doing here?!" She pushes the words through her teeth. She doesn't step away from him, though. They're lucky it's not too busy at the zoo.
"I am here because I wanted to see you," he states simply, as if he didn't kidnap her a week ago.
"See me?" She frowns at him. "Why?"
"It is a long story. Not for today, I'm afraid." He sighs and turns back to the bear. He raises his eyebrows and glances her way. She looks at the bear, who has finally squashed the pumpkin with its jaw. They stand there in silence for a bit.
"Here to kidnap me again?" she jokes.
"I am not, actually," is all he says.
"You sure aged quickly in the past couple days," she remarks with a scoff.
"It's called a disguise, dear."
"If you can turn into anything you want, why go with an old man?"
"Because."
"How old are you?" Daphne shakes her head at his childish remark.
"Around 1500 years." She stares at him with her mouth slightly opened before collecting herself.
"That was meant in a sarcastic way, I didn't actually want to know how old you are."
"Oh, I know. I enjoy the surprised look on your face," he chuckles. "Besides, I did not give you my exact age."
"Let's keep it that way."