"Ma'am",
the man in the uniform whispered, eyes on the floor. Janine's eyes watered,
expecting the worst.
"What
happened? What happened to him?"
"Your
son fought like a hero."
"Oh
God", Janine's eyes met the man's. "He's dead? Eric is dead?"
"Your
son is not dead, ma'am", the man replied, but something in his voice made
Janine feel something was still wrong.
"He's
not?"
"Your
son is… huh…" the man's words died in his mouth. A second man, this one
carrying medals across his uniformed chest, approached. "Miss Wilson, your
son is now a manatee. We have him on the back of the truck. We're really
sorry."
"Oh
my God!"
"Do
you wanna see him?"
"Yes.
Yes, I – how did this happen?"
"We're
not sure", the medal man said, walking Janine to the truck outside the
house. "We were outnumbered, four to one. Your son was on the first wave.
Disappeared in the fog of battle."
"When
we found him", the other man added. "He was––"
"--already
a manatee. There was nothing any of us could do."
The
men stopped behind the truck, Janine between them. "Ma'am, this could be
rather… shocking. Are you sure you are ready?"
Janine
hesitated. Then, "Yes."
"Very
well", the men took a step forward and each one held on to one handle of
the truck's trunk. "Here we go."
They
pulled at the same time and Janine's eyes focused on the inside of the vehicle.
Behind a thick glass, eyes wide and black, a big fat manatee was staring at
her, it's head bobbing softly up and down underwater. It looked peaceful.
"Eric!"
Janine shouted, resting both her hands against the glass, eyes all red.
"My baby, what did they do to you?"
"Sometimes
the heat of the battle", the medal man started, "Can… change a
man."
"Turn
him into something else", the other one completed.
"A
changed person."
"A
murderer."
"A
disturbed individual."
"A
manatee."
"MY
BABY!" Janine screamed, but the manatee just looked back -- no signs that
it recognized its mother. "MY BABY! LOOK! LOOK WHAT THE WAR DID TO MY
SON!" she screamed, and all eyes of everyone around were on her.
The
popcorn man's eyes were on her. The children walking hand in hand with their
parents. Children still pure, not yet turned into manatees. All eyes on her.
"MY
SON IS MANATEE BECAUSE OF THE GREED OF MEN TOO COWARD TO FIGHT THEIR OWN
WARS!" Janine screamed, banging her open hands at the glass separating her
from her son. "MY SON, THE MANATEE OF THE WAR THAT SHOULDN'T BE!"
"Janine
for the love of God, you are embarrassing us."
"LOOK!
LOOK AT IT, IT'S SO FAT I WANNA CRY!"
"Ma'am,
we're going to have to ask you to leave", the medal man said, grabbing her
arm.
"MY
SON! MY SON! MY BIG, FAT, COW OF THE SEA SON! LOOK AT HIM! HE LOOKS LIKE A
BULLDOG HAD SEX WITH A MR. POTATO! MY SON! NO! STOP TOUCHING ME! STOP! DON'T
TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY SON!"
She
screamed and screamed, but already the men were dragging her away, down the
little cobblestone path past the burger hut and the giraffes and the wolves
towards the entrance.
"Please
be mindful of who you bring here", the medal man said, throwing an angry
look at Janine's friends. "This is a family place."
The
guards left, and Janine's friends looked at each other, then around the parking
lot, frustrated.
"For
fuck's sake Janine, you said you've done mushrooms before. You ruined the zoo
for everyone."
But
Janine was crying the loss of her manatee son still, and paid no mind.
-FTW-
