short story

It was hard to get a ticket to the California Nature Museum. Even aside from how expensive they were, you couldn’t simply buy one. The museum wanted to maintain its air of exclusivity, of being for only the elite, so just as much as money was needed so were connections. It was Katherine’s father that got her a ticket, a present for her 18th Birthday. He handed the ticket to her while saying, “I know this is the type of thing you’re interested in,” before waving his hand as if to wave away any notion that he cared and sitting back down without another word. Katherine wasn’t sure why he would do that, as much thought as she had given it. She didn’t understand why her father would be so determined to not appear as if he truly cared about his own daughter.
     She chose a Tuesday morning to go, on her own of course. The Museum would always be quiet, since only a dozen or so people were allowed in any time, but the idea of going on a Tuesday morning appealed to Katherine. It seemed more fitting somehow, though she couldn’t have told you why. The car dropped her off right at the foot of the front entrance, but by the time Katherine got to the top of the stairs to the doors she was already soaked through by the Tuesday rain. Her floral dress clung to her body as her hair clung to her skin, and there was a faint dripping sound that accompanied her onto the marble floor of the foyeur. She never even thought to bring an umbrella, and her summer dress didn’t offer much protection from the unexpected rain. The air conditioning was still on in the museum when she arrived, and the cold air chilled Katherine to her bones and made the hair on her arms stand up. She suppressed the urge to shake herself off like a dog, fearing judgement in such a respectable establishment, and walked up to the reception.
      “Hello, and welcome to the California Nature Museum,” said the pretty blond receptionist, her smile a little too big for Katherine’s comfort. “The number one site in the US to learn about, witness, and experience nature. My name is Ashley, how can I help you today?”
      “Hello,” Katherine stammered. “I have a ticket.” She held up the black and gold inlaid plastic ticket for Ashley to see.
      “Ah, wonderful,” she responded. “Will this be your first visit with us here, Miss...?”
     “Katherine, my name is Katherine.”
      “Miss Katherine,” Ashley said, her smile somehow growing while she did. “Will this be your first time here with us at the Nature Museum?”
      “Yes, it is.” Katherine found herself sweating and stammering through the conversation. She hadn’t been expecting so many questions and inquiries. All she wanted was to be let into the museum.
      “Ooh, very exciting,” Ashley said. “You are in for a treat today, Miss Katherine. If you’d like to take a seat over there with some of our other patrons, the first tour of the day will begin shortly, within the next hour.”
     Katherine looked over to where the receptionist was pointing, to see a small waiting room with a couple and a young family, sitting patiently. “Oh, well, thank you, Ashley,” she said. “But I think I will just go in by myself, and see the museum alone.”
     Ashley’s smile faltered slightly, though never faded completely. It looked plastered on now, as the rest of her face showed her confusion. “We always highly recommend our guided tours, especially for first time visitors,” she said. “It truly is the best way for visitors to experience the California Nature Museum, and our highly qualified tour guides ensure a fun and informative, as well as highly interactive, experience for guests. Those who join us at the Museum for our tours will gain great knowledge, even while they have their breaths taken away. Join us, and find a truly new appreciation for nature.”
     There was a pause that went on for far too long, as Katherine wasn’t sure the receptionist was finished, and didn’t know how to react if she was. One thing was for sure though: nothing could have convinced Katherine more to avoid this guided tour. “Thank you,” she said, the uncertainty clear in her voice. “But I think I’ll just go in by myself.”
     Another pause followed, which wasn’t as long but felt even more awkward.
      “Of course,” Ashley said finally. “Security is just past the reception, and then you’ll be in the museum and free to take in all of the exhibits at your own leisure.”
      “Alright, thank you very much.”
      “My pleasure. Enjoy your visit to the California Museum of Nature.”
      “Thanks, you too,” Katherine said, before cringing to herself and quickly walking away. She walked down the hallway, feeling a chill go through her as the cold air painfully dried her and her clothes, and came to security. Just a single scanner with a single tired looking security guard waiting for her, who asked for her small lunch bag before waving her through the scanner. When the security guard was confident there was nothing in the lunch bag that wasn’t to be eaten, he casually grunted for her to continue on. Neither of them ever said a word, which Katherine was much more comfortable with. She walked down the rest of the hall and through the entrance to the museum itself, and as she walked through the open doorway she stopped stunned, craning her neck to look upwards.
     In front of her stood a great redwood tree, towering maybe a hundred feet above her own red head. Katherine had read about it and knew it was here, but still couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was thought to be the last living redwood tree, and when they got the idea for the museum they decided to build the entire place around it. Katherine just stood there for a time staring up at the giant, feeling small and insignificant. Her eyes drifted all the way to the top of the tree, which grazed the glass ceiling. The green leaves were bright and vibrant against the red bark, though Katherine couldn’t help but feel there maybe weren’t as many as there should have been. As she walked towards the redwood her eyes travelled back down the redwood and saw the floor around it littered with shrivelled, brown leaves, dead and tired. A woman was slowly circling the base of the tree, sweeping them all up. When she saw Katherine she politely nodded her head in greeting, before returning to her work with a smile.
     Katherine walked right up to the base of the tree herself, dry leaves crunching under her feet as she did, and laid a hand on the rough, red bark. The feel was breathtaking. She had never felt a wild tree before, and she immediately felt a difference. There was a warmth in it that even the painful air conditioning couldn’t take away; it felt alive. Katherine marvelled at the thought of the age this tree had been alive, always growing and always living. It had been here so long before Katherine had, and it would be here so long after she was gone. Looking around to check if anyone else could see her, Katherine saw that the cleaner had finished sweeping up all the leaves, leaving the marble floor smooth and empty again, and was walking out of the hall.
     Katherine closed her eyes, forgetting where she was and who she was for the moment, and gently laid her cheek against the rough bark of the tree. She imagined being lost in a forest, but not wanting a way out. Surrounded by green leaves and red bark and brown dirt and the sound of life. But when Katherine opened her eyes again she was still in the white marble hall with glass ceilings, and the one piece of life and colour suddenly seemed very lonely. She turned to walk away and felt a crunch under her foot. When she moved she saw a dead leaf crumbling beneath her shoe; the cleaner must have missed one.
     Katherine looked at the different hallyways branching off and away, trying to decide where to go now. She hadn’t made any plans or done much research into what to see, instead looking forward to the idea of exploring her way through everything in her own way. One sign caught her eye immediately: The Hall of Butterflies and Bees. Katherine had always loved butterflies when she saw them in pictures and videos, though she hadn’t thought there were any left. This museum was certainly full of surprises. Walking through the entryway, Katherine found herself in a long, straight hallway, with yellow walls that were almost entirely covered in display cases. Her eyes were so dazzled and distracted by the beautiful rainbow of colours that it took Katherine a moment to be let down.
     All down the hallway the beautifully garish wings of the butterflies clamoured for Katherine’s attention, while the simpler, clear wings of the bees sparkled back at her. They were all pinned against the wall. When Katherine saw this she felt a sadness she hadn’t expected to feel in this museum. She felt very uncomfortable now, but felt she couldn’t leave before she’d walked down the entire hallway. The colour and life in all the wings and bodies around her had vanished from their eyes, which stared back at Katherine questioningly; but she didn’t have any answers. She walked through the hallway, not sure if it would be more polite or inconsiderate for her to stop herself looking at all the beautiful corpses on either side of her. Katherine walked past the beehive replica in the centre of the hallway, with a dull buzzing sound coming from a speaker hiding under the plastic sculpture, and didn’t slow her stride. All it did was remind her that she would never see any of these beautiful creatures with wind in their wings, or life in their eyes. That time had passed, and Katherine had missed it. Empty bodies and plastic imitations only served to remind her of that fact. When she got to the end of the hallway Katherine turned back to look one more time. The dead eyes still had all the same questions, and she still had none of the answers they wanted or deserved. She turned away again.
     A massive glass wall greeted Katherine when she turned around, as well as dim lighting and soft ocean sounds drifting all around her. Behind the glass she saw movement and colour, and she finally smiled again. She saw life once more. Katherine walked up to the glass, seeing a crowd of bright and shiny fish swim past and marvelling at the grace of them all. She looked behind herself and saw a simple bench right in front of the aquarium, and thought this would be the perfect place to sit and eat her lunch. Dinner and a show, she thought to herself.
     She sat down and opened up her little lunch box, pulling out the slightly squished ham and cheese sandwich she’d made that morning, a packet of salt and vinegar chips, and a fruit punch juice-box, which she’d never quite grown out of. She took the first bite of her sandwich with a smile on her face, her attention fully grabbed by the underwater ballet in front of her. All the big fish and rays swimming slowly and casually around all the reefs, while smaller fish weaved in and out between the coral, ducking away and hiding any time another, bigger creature came too close to them. And then a silvery mass continued to swim around and around in unison, the entire shoal seemingly made up of hundreds of different fish.
     Every bit as beautiful as the sea creatures in front of Katherine, though, was their home and refuge. The coral was a rainbow of rock that looked like it belonged on an alien planet, but somehow belonged here instead. Katherine had always been fascinated by the idea of this living rock, that would grow and survive and breathe. To see the coral in front of her right now, with the shimmers of fish darting past and through it, almost brought tears to Katherine’s eyes; for the beauty of it, but also for the shock after thinking that there was no more coral on Earth anymore. She was sure she’d read that before, and yet here the coral was right in front of her, giving a home to all of these fish.
     The questions that Katherine had been trying not to ask were answered for her, however, when a small glint of gold caught her eye below the glass. Right under the giant aquarium, hidden in the soft darkness at the foot of the wall, a small golden plaque had a message for Katherine: For the comfort and safety of the sea creatures, artificial coral has been added to this exhibit. Her smile faded. Katherine stayed sitting on the bench and finished her lunch, but it felt different now, and the scenes in front of her didn’t bring the same joy they did only a moment ago. Somehow it all seemed less beautiful now.
     When Katherine finished her lunch she zipped her lunch bag again and got up to leave. She stopped for a moment to look at the aquarium once more, to see the brightly coloured fish dash and play in the water. She wondered if they knew it was all fake. She thought they probably did. Turning away, Katherine saw a simple door off to the side of the room. She wouldn’t have been sure it was for visitors were it not for the fact that a sign on the door said, Come on in and meet Cody! She didn’t know what was on the other side or who Cody might be, but whatever it was already seemed more appealing that walking back through all the judging insect eyes. She opened the door quietly and stepped into the next room.
     It was hard to tell what struck Katherine first: the polar bear itself, or the glass case that held it despite clearly being too small. At first she assumed that it was already dead and stuffed, but as soon as Katherine walked in the giant bear turned around to look at her. He towered above her, and looked so big that she wondered if he would hit its head on the glass ceiling should he ever choose to stand up on his back legs. Cody took two steps from the opposite side and was already at the front of his case, and as Katherine walked up to meet him they were nearly face to face. Cody’s breath fogged up against the cold glass. Katherine reached out to touch her the glass in front of him, startling the massive animal and making him take a step back again. She felt like her heart broke right then and there.
     Katherine took a step back and looked at Cody through the glass, hating that’s what his name was. She knew he must too. He looked like a shell of what he was supposed to. He may still have been big and tall enough to tower over Katherine, but she could see his ribs poking through his fur. Cody didn’t even look white anymore, his tired fur looking more yellow than anything else. His eyes were all he had left that truly belonged to him, but when Katherine looked into them she only saw fear and confusion.
     She couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t stand it, and with tears starting to stream down her cheeks she quickly went back through the door she came in and hurriedly started walking back towards the entrance. She pushed her way through the guided tour that was about to enter behind her, who mostly seemed to just ignore her. As Katherine walked back through the hall of dead and flightless wings again, she could hear the tour guide talking still, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it.
      “And now you’re in for a real treat,” he said. “Behind this door, you will all get to witness and experience the last living polar bear on earth.” The crowd around him oohed and ahhed, and all got their cameras ready. “So how about it?” he continued. “Who’s ready to go in and meet Cody?”
     Katherine finally got out of the hallway and back into the main hall, the great red wood still looking down at her. This time she couldn’t bear to look back up at it, though. As she walked through the new pile of dead and crumbling leaves gathering at its base, Katherine knew that it would be dead and gone long before she was.