A (very )short story
From a very early age, when he still had no hair anywhere on his body, and his voice still sounded like a heavenly angel, he was very clear about what he wanted to do with his life. He was going to be a tiger. But a real tiger. He was not able to explain where that strange desire had come from; maybe to be stronger, more handsome than others or maybe it was simply an inability to accept himself as he was. Unfortunately, no one else knew about this ambition, although if they had, they would not have cared to explain to him that a human being could not turn into a tiger. So he grew up not realizing that it was an impossible dream, because he didn’t bother to ask.
Over the years, he dyed his hair in orange and black stripes, tried to grow his moustache wild, but to no avail. He studied the habits of tigers, how they behaved, their relationships with each other, their favorite foods, but he did not notice any satisfactory changes.
At one point, he even went to see the Cats musical, believing that he was going to see catmen who had gone through what he yearned for. But these people were clearly human, and from what he remembered, tigers didn’t usually dance and spontaneously burst into song.
He tried The Lion King in the hope of receiving some more concrete clues about wild cats and although it convinced him more, seeing them from the upper circle he had to admit that in reality they were still mere humans in disguise. He still hadn’t hit the nail on the head.
He came to feel more and more discouraged, although without wanting to give up completely, until one day he saw the door to his dream open a little. It was a Thursday night. He had arranged to meet friends, without much enthusiasm, to tell the truth. With no hope of having a night any different from normal, he went along. After a while the evening took a turn.
He suddenly realized that his hearing was becoming more acute. Although he was at the bar, he could hear the conversation at the table perfectly. Excited by what it could mean, he stayed where he was and listened. He immediately realized that maybe this could help him. They were talking about how males attracted females and the word tiger was used several times.
Unfortunately, the topic was not about him, rather about conquering a human female, and how the female would crown the male with the compliment “Tiger”.
But it gave him an idea. Perhaps, if he could make other people see him as a tiger, the transformation would take place more quickly. So he formulated a plan, based on feedback from his friends. A date. A blind one. With nothing to lose, and with confidence high, he prepared carefully. Tonight or never…
After what had felt like an endless dinner, he was with her, in her bed, waiting for those words, trying too hard, and thus achieving too little. Suddenly, when he had almost lost hope, he had a moment of clarity. Why can’t I just enjoy? I am indeed stronger, more handsome than anyone else right now. If this person, human, accepts me as I am, then so do I.
It occurred to him that it would be somewhat difficult to live his entire life trying to be something he could never be in a world that looked down on him. To cling to a desire without reward? No. After so many years of anguish, he finally relaxed.
Too late.
At that same moment, he heard the girl whispering the words that he had so needed to hear and at the same time he felt how his ears were shrinking and becoming pointed, moustache was growing outwards, and his nails were turning into claws…
A dream come true. The memory of a few seconds earlier when he had tried to convince himself that he could live without it vanished. A real tiger, now, condemned to live, from this point, in a world of humans. He didn’t care. He had become himself.
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