Paranormal Romantics

The Peacock's Roar by Francesca Quarto




The Peacock's was a life of privilege, strutting the zoo grounds like the King, on a Progress.  His wealth of colorful feathers, never failed to amaze visitors, lucky enough to see them unfurled.  Without notice, except for a scratchy sounding roar, his posterior would explode into a rainbow.  This luxuriant fan undulated slowly, as if waved by a Nubian slave over Nefertiti's warm brow.
Often times, during my time there, I'd see this puffed-up male, sitting atop the outdoor cages and enclosures of the big cats.  He never seemed aware of them as they prowled below, occasionally looking upward, in his direction.  He was fearless of their claws and large, toothy mouths.  They, in turn, never growled, or acted agitated with his intrusions on their domains, if indeed, a zoo cage can be considered a "domain."
There were over a dozen or more Peacocks and Peahens roaming at-will over the grounds of the small Indiana zoo.  They were all part of what is euphemistically called the "Collection" owned by a zoo.  Some of the animals in this wild hording, are actually on loan from various zoos around the country, even from outside the country.  But they all share a common pedigree.  Their ancestors, going back in history, were once free to roam their environment, free to eat what and when they wanted, free to procreate when the urge was upon them.  They were free to live and then to die, without interference and manipulations.
But freedom in the wild comes with its own costs.  Even on the Savannah, or deep inside the green gloom of the Rain Forest,  one can find bullies and bandits, claim jumpers and changing loyalties, killers of babies and cannibalism.  
People often have a tendency to view the untamed geography on our planet, with an idealized eye.  Doing so, these few, wild places, are stripped of their natural identity and made into unattainable Paradises.  Do we do that to recreate what we have lost, or rather, to dominate what we desire?
The roaming Peacock never shows any concern with the philosophy of humans.  Our dramas are our own and he could care less as he sits atop the lion's cage and adds his own roar of life, for the expectant visitors.